Rashid Sidek (born July 8, 1968 in Kanchong Darat, Banting

Banting

Banting is a principal town in the district of Kuala Langat, Selangor in Malaysia. Banting has a population of 48,240. It is situated on the banks of Langat River . It is a Rest Town or Bandar Persinggahan of Federal route . The historical Bandar Jugra, a former royal town of Selangor is situated...

, Selangor

Selangor

Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

) was a Malaysian national badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 player, and a prominent world-class singles player during the 1990s. He is the youngest of the six Sidek brothers. He and his siblings were all actively involved in the international badminton scene. His brothers Razif Sidek

Razif Sidek

Mohamad Razif Mohd Sidek is a former badminton player from Malaysia and a prominent world-class doubles player during the mid 1980s to early 1990s....

 and Jalani Sidek

Jalani Sidek

Mohamed Jalani Mohamad Sidek is a former badminton player from Malaysia....

 won the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 bronze medal in the men's doubles in 1992.

Childhood

Growing up with a support system that revolved around Badminton, Rashid Sidek became a walking proof for one of the most uplifting sportsmen in his era. As the youngest among the famous Sidek brothers, Rashid Sidek became a sought after badminton player, winning numbers of titles during his commitment. Born on July 8, 1968, in Banting, Selangor, Rashid became the youngest player to win the National Junior Badminton Championship in 1980 at the age of 12. Under the guidance of his father, Rashid and the rest of his siblings were trained to be champions.

Junior years

Rashid switched to singles player in Standard Five after starting out as a doubles player. He stamped his mark when he won the national Under 18 title in 1984 by defeating Kwan Yoke Meng during his year as a Form Three student of Victoria Institute in Kuala Lumpur. The young lad won every age group title in the country from the Under 12 to the Under 20 and had prominently become the newbie with a formidable recognition.

In 1985, he won the final of Asian Youth Championship by beating Allan Budi Kusuma of Indonesia. After the completion of his Sijil Penilaian Menengah (SPM) exam, he was injected into the Project 1988/90 squad set to regain the Thomas Cup.
In the same year, he won the Selangor Open title and his first senior title at Sarawak Open against heavyweight champions like his own brother Misbun Sidek and Foo Kok Keong.

Breakthrough and dominance

Rashid Sidek won the Malaysian Open title three years consecutively during the year 1990, 1991, and 1992. The highlight of 1990 is when the youngest Sidek sibling won the gold medal for the Men’s Single during the Commonwealth Games held in Auckland. He was known by many as “jaguh kampung”,

He played first singles for Malaysia

Malaysia national badminton team

The Malaysia national badminton team is a badminton team that plays for Malaysia in international competitions. The men's team has enjoyed immense success, having won the Thomas Cup five times, most recently in 1992...

 in the 1992 Thomas Cup series winning his championship round match against Indonesia

Indonesia national badminton team

The Indonesia national badminton team represents Indonesia in international badminton team competitions and is controlled by the Persatuan Bulutangkis Seluruh Indonesia, PBSI , the governing body for badminton in Indonesia...

's Ardy Wiranata

Ardy Wiranata

Ardy Bernardus Wiranata was an Indonesian badminton player who rated among the top singles players in the world during most of the 1990s...

 to help Malaysia to its first Thomas Cup victory in 25 years. His other achievements include champions of the 1992 Grand Prix, ABC champion in 1991/92, gold medal winner of Men’s Single during the 1994 Victoria’s Commonwealth, Brunei Open champion in 1995, bronze medal holder for Single’s of Sea Games in 1995, 1996 Asia Cup and German Open champion.

He won the bronze medal in badminton for men's singles at the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 held in Atlanta after beating the reigning World Champion from Indonesia, Heryanto Arbi. He became the world number one player for the first time in 1997.

Coaching

Upon his retirement, Rashid was appointed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia and became an instrument to the success of the new generation badminton players for instance Lee Chong Wei, Hafiz Hashim, Wong Choong Hann, and Wong Mew Choo. Apart from that he coached Nusa Mahsuri, a badminton club from 1996 to 2002. Currently, he acts as the advisor for the club which he has set up with his brother Jalani Sidek.

Achievements

Rank	Event	Date	Venue
Olympics
3	Singles	1996	Atlanta, USA
Asian Games Badminton at the Asian Games Badminton is one of the regular Asian Games sports since 1962 in Jakarta, Indonesia.-History:Badminton made its debut in the Asian Games as a demonstration sport at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan, and became a regular competitive sport in 1962. In the 1962 Games, six events were held, with...
3	Singles	1990	Beijing, China
3	Team	1990	Beijing, China
Commonwealth Games Badminton at the Commonwealth Games Badminton debuted at the 1966 Commonwealth Games.-Location of the Commonwealth Games:The table below gives an overview of all host cities and countries of badminton at the Commonwealth Games.-Individual competition:-Medal table:-References:...
1	Singles	1990	Auckland, New Zealand
1	Singles	1994	Victoria, Canada
2	Doubles	1990	Auckland, New Zealand
Thomas Cup Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation , the sport's global governing body...
1	Team	1992	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2	Team	1998	Hong Kong
2	Team	1994	Jakarta, Indonesia
2	Team	1990	Tokyo, Japan
2	Team	1988	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
World Tournaments
1	Singles	1990	Malaysia Open
1	Singles	1991	Asian Badminton Championships
1	Singles	1991	Malaysia Open
1	Singles	1992	World Grand Prix Finals World Badminton Grand Prix The World Badminton Grand Prix was an annual badminton tournament organized by the International Badminton Federation to crown the best badminton player of the year. The tournament only invited the top eight players in the year-end world rankings. The tournament started in 1983, with the last...
1	Singles	1992	Asian Badminton Championships
1	Singles	1992	Malaysia Open
1	Singles	1995	Brunei Open
1	Singles	1996	German Open German Open (badminton) The German Open is an annual badminton tournament held in Germany since 1955 and organized by German Badminton Association or Deustcher Badminton Verband ....
2	Singles	1994	Malaysia Open
2	Singles	1996	All England Open
2	Singles	1996	Chinese Taipei Open
2	Singles	2000	Korea Open