Rashid Sidek


Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Sidek is a Malaysian former badminton player and coach.

Personal life

He is the youngest of the famous five Sidek brothers. Rashid and his siblings gained exposure to badminton from their father, Mohd Sidek. Under the guidance of his father, Rashid and the rest of his siblings were trained to be champions. Rashid Sidek is an alumnus of Victoria Institution of batch 1981–1985.

Career

After completing his Sijil Penilaian Menengah exam, he was injected into the Project 1988/90 squad with the aim to regain the Thomas Cup. In the 1990 Thomas Cup, Rashid had a strong tournament but Malaysia lost the finals to China 1–4.
He won the Malaysian Open title for three consecutive years in 1990, 1991, and 1992. As a result, he became known by many as “jaguh kampung”. In the Thomas Cup final in 1992, he beat Ardy Wiranata to give Malaysia the first point in a dramatic 3-2 win over rivals Indonesia - the first championship won by Malaysia in 25 years, and the last to this day.
Rashid's performance declined in the next three years, but he bounced back in 1996, when he won the Asia Cup and German Open, then reached the finals of the All England before losing to Paul-Erik Hoyer Larsen from Denmark. His ranking rose to among the top three in the world. He won the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, beating the top seed, Joko Suprianto of Indonesia en route to the semi-finals, where he was beaten by Dong Jiong. However, he beat Indonesia's 1995 world champion, Heryanto Arbi, 5-15, 15-11, 15-6 in the third place playoff.
In 1997, Rashid reached the top of the world ranking. He began to make room for players like Wong Choong Hann, Yong Hock Kin and Roslin Hashim to rise up, and retired in 2000.

Coaching

Upon his retirement, Rashid was appointed as national coach by the Badminton Association of Malaysia from 2003 until 2015. He became the instrumental to the success of the new generation badminton players such as Daren Liew and Chong Wei Feng. Apart from that, he was a coach in Nusa Mahsuri, the first professional badminton club in Malaysia from 1996 to 2002. Currently, he acts as the advisor for the club which he has set up with his brother, Jalani.

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1996GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, United States Hariyanto Arbi5–15, 15–11, 15–6 Bronze

World Cup

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1993Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi, India Joko Suprianto9–15, 3–15 Bronze

Asian Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1990Beijing Gymnasium, Beijing, China Zhao Jianhua2–15, 5–15 Bronze

Asian Championships

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1991Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Foo Kok Keong4–15, 15–11, 15–2 Gold
1992Cheras Indoor Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Foo Kok Keong15–9, 15–3 Gold

Southeast Asian Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1989Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Eddy Kurniawan10–15, 7–15 Bronze
1991Camp Crame Gymnasium, Manila, Philippines Joko Suprianto10–15, 9–15 Bronze
1995Gymnasium 3, 700th Anniversary Sport Complex, Chiang Mai, Thailand Ardy Wiranata11–15, 10–15 Bronze

Commonwealth Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1990Auckland Badminton Hall, Auckland, New Zealand Foo Kok Keong15–8, 15–10 Gold
1994Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Ong Ewe Hock15–6, 15–4 Gold

Men's doubles
YearVenuePartnerOpponentScoreResult
1990Auckland Badminton Hall, Auckland, New Zealand Cheah Soon Kit Razif Sidek
Jalani Sidek		8–15, 8–15 Silver

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.
Men's singles
YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1990French Open Foo Kok Keong11–15, 13–18 Runner-up
1990Malaysia Open Foo Kok Keong18–17, 15–6 Winner
1990World Grand Prix Finals Eddy Kurniawan13–18, 15–9, 2–15 Runner-up
1991Malaysia Open Foo Kok Keong15–4, 15–5 Winner
1992Malaysia Open Thomas Stuer Lauridsen15–5, 15–7 Winner
1992World Grand Prix Finals Alan Budikusuma15–9, 5–15, 15–7 Winner
1994Malaysia Open Joko Suprianto3–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1996Chinese Taipei Open Dong Jiong11–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1996All England Open Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen7–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1996German Open Ong Ewe Hock15–11, 15–2 Winner
1999Chinese Taipei Open Fung Permadi17–16, 6–15, 7–15 Runner-up
2000Korea Open Peter Gade11–15, 3–15 Runner-up

IBF International

Men's singles
YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1995Brunei Open Jeffer Rosobin15–9, 15–3 Winner

Honours