His son, Kenneth Tan, confirmed to FMT that the former Thomas Cup hero passed away peacefully in his sleep overnight. His carer discovered the death at 7.30am this morning.
Primarily a doubles player, Yee Khan became renowned in the 1960s as one half of a world-beating doubles partnership with the late Ng Boon Bee.
The duo is best remembered for being part of the national badminton squad that wrested the Thomas Cup in Jakarta in 1967.
Together, they also won numerous other prestigious titles, including the 1965 and 1966 All-England titles, as well as gold medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta (1962) and Bangkok (1966), and at three SEAP Games (Southeast Asian Peninsular Games) in 1961, 1965 and 1967.
He was inducted into the World Badminton Hall of Fame in 1998.
In a previous interview, Yee Khan fondly recalled his childhood and badminton journey with Boon Bee, describing them as “memories which will last an eternity.”
The two grew up just 200m apart in Ipoh, studied together at the St Michael’s Institution, and even worked side by side as meter readers with the Central Electricity Board, now Tenaga Nasional.
In 2023, then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah hosted a special reception to honour the 1967 Thomas Cup winners. Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah surprised them all with fruitcakes she baked herself.
Yee Khan, by then wheelchair-bound, described the occasion as “something I could never have dreamed of and something you will never ever forget”.
Plagued by back problems, Yee Khan retired from competitive badminton in 1969 but reinvented himself as one of Malaysia’s leading golfers. Boon Bee also represented Malaysia in rugby and football.
“We’re the rare breed of athletes capable of doing well in several sports,” said Yee Khan, who won the 1970 Malaysian Amateur Golf Open nine months after retiring from badminton.
The wake for Yee Khan will be held today and tomorrow from noon until 10pm at the Vcare Memorial Centre in Ipoh, with the final rites to be held on Wednesday from 10am at the Papan Memorial Park Crematorium nearby.