Tony Gunawan

Tony Gunawan
Personal information
CountryIndonesia (until 2001)
United States (2001–present)
Born (1975-04-09) April 9, 1975
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
ResidenceOrange, California, United States
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse
(m. 2002)
CoachChristian Hadinata
Herry Iman Pierngadi
Highest ranking1
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  United States
World Championships
2005 Anaheim Men's doubles
World Cup
2005 Yiyang Men's doubles
World Senior Championships
2015 Helsingborg Men's doubles 35+
2023 Jeonju Men's doubles 45+
Pan American Games
2011 Guadalajara Men's doubles
Representing  Indonesia
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney Men's doubles
World Championships
2001 Seville Men's doubles
World Masters Games
2017 Auckland Men's doubles 35+[a]
2017 Auckland Men's doubles 40+
Sudirman Cup
2001 Seville Mixed team
1999 Copenhagen Mixed team
Thomas Cup
1998 Hong Kong Men's team
2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Asian Games
1998 Bangkok Men's team
Asian Championships
2000 Jakarta Men's doubles
2001 Manila Men's doubles
Asian Cup
1996 Seoul Men's doubles
Asia Cup
1999 Ho Chi Minh Men's team
SEA Games
2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles
2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
BWF profile

Tony Gunawan (Chinese: 吳俊明; pinyin: Wu Junming; born April 9, 1975) is an Indonesian-born American former badminton player. He gained several international achievements for Indonesia and later for the United States, including an Olympic gold medal and world champion title.

Career

Gunawan is a former Olympic gold medalist and world champion for Indonesia, and later a world champion for the United States. He is regarded by many, including his peers, as one of the greatest doubles players in badminton history.[1] A superb all-court player with a particular facility in the forecourt, he won the 2000 Olympic gold medal, the 2001 IBF World Championships, and 2005 IBF World Championships with 3 different men's doubles partners.

He won the men's doubles gold medal in the 2005 World Championships from the 13th seeded position with his American partner Howard Bach. Gunawan partnered with Halim Haryanto to win the 2001 World Championships as well as the 2001 All-England Open, and with Candra Wijaya to win the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He was a member of the world champion 2000 Indonesia Thomas Cup team, winning his match in the final against China with yet another partner, Rexy Mainaky.

Gunawan and Bach won the 2005 IBF World Championships Men's Doubles gold over Gunawan's ex-partner Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto who were also finalists in the 2003 IBF World Championships in the same event. Tony played for Indonesia from 1992 to 2001 and won numerous international titles. He has coached and played for USA since 2001. Tony is currently studying in Orange County, California and coaches at Global Badminton Academy.

Personal life

He married Indonesian women's doubles player, Etty Tantri on July 29, 2002 at the Monte Carlo Chapel in Las Vegas. They have two sons, Christopher and Leon.

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Result Ref.
United States Olympic Committee Award 2005 US Olympic Committee Team of The Year Won [2]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2000 The Dome, Sydney, Australia Candra Wijaya Lee Dong-soo
Yoo Yong-sung
15–10, 9–15, 15–7 Gold [3]

World Championships

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2001 Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo,
Seville, Spain
Halim Haryanto Ha Tae-kwon
Kim Dong-moon
15–0, 15–13 Gold
2005 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States Howard Bach Sigit Budiarto
Candra Wijaya
15–11, 10–15, 15–11 Gold

World Cup

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China Howard Bach Sigit Budiarto
Candra Wijaya
18–21, 9–21 Bronze

World Masters Games

Men's doubles

Year Age Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2017 35+ Auckland Badminton Centre,
Auckland, New Zealand
Tri Kusharjanto Jan Fröhlich
Carsten Loesch
21–11, 21–17 Gold [4]
2017 40+ Auckland Badminton Centre,
Auckland, New Zealand
Effendy Widjaja Tri Kusharjanto
Hariyanto Arbi
20–22, 14–21 Silver [5]

World Senior Championships

Men's doubles

Year Age Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2015 35+ Helsingborg Arena,
Helsingborg, Sweden
Flandy Limpele Naruenart Chuaymak
Apichai Thiraratsakul
21–13, 21–9 Gold [6]
2023 45+ Hwasan Indoor Stadium,
Jeonju, South Korea
Tri Kusharjanto Naruenart Chuaymak
Thaweesak Koetsriphan
21–14, 21–13 Gold [7]

Pan American Games

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
Howard Bach Halim Haryanto
Sattawat Pongnairat
21–10, 21–14 Gold [8][9]

Asian Championships

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2000 Istora Senayan,
Jakarta, Indonesia
Rexy Mainaky Choong Tan Fook
Lee Wan Wah
15–8, 15–9 Gold
2001 PhilSports Arena, Manila, Philippines Candra Wijaya Tri Kusharjanto
Bambang Suprianto
15–8, 13–15, 13–15 Silver

Asian Cup

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1996 Olympic Gymnasium No. 2,
Seoul, South Korea
Rudy Wijaya Kim Dong-moon
Yoo Yong-sung
10–15, 8–15 Silver

SEA Games

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2001 Malawati Stadium,
Selangor, Malaysia
Bambang Suprianto Candra Wijaya
Sigit Budiarto
4–15, 6–15 Silver

BWF Superseries (1 title, 4 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[10] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011.[11] Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2007 Malaysia Open Candra Wijaya Koo Kien Keat
Tan Boon Heong
15–21, 18–21 Runner-up
2007 Japan Open Candra Wijaya Luluk Hadiyanto
Alvent Yulianto
21–18, 21–17 Winner
2007 Hong Kong Open Candra Wijaya Markis Kido
Hendra Setiawan
12–21, 21–18, 13–21 Runner-up
2008 Indonesia Open Candra Wijaya Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif
Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari
21–19, 18–21, 14–21 Runner-up
2010 Singapore Open Howard Bach Fang Chieh-min
Lee Sheng-mu
14–21, 15–21 Runner-up
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

IBF/BWF Grand Prix (29 titles, 8 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1995 Russian Open Rudy Wijaya Thomas Lund
Jon Holst-Christensen
8–15, 15–11, 14–17 Runner-up
1995 Denmark Open Rudy Wijaya Thomas Lund
Jon Holst-Christensen
17–16, 5–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1997 Polish Open Victo Wibowo Rudy Wijaya
Seng Kok Keong
15–11, 15–6 Winner
1998 Swedish Open Candra Wijaya Yang Ming
Zhang Jun
15–3, 15–6 Winner
1998 All England Open Candra Wijaya Lee Dong-soo
Yoo Yong-sung
10–15, 10–15 Runner-up
1998 Malaysia Open Halim Haryanto Liu Yong
Yu Jinhao
6–15, 15–5, 15–11 Winner
1998 Brunei Open Halim Haryanto Michael Søgaard
Denny Kantono
15–2, 15–8 Winner
1998 Hong Kong Open Candra Wijaya Jens Eriksen
Jesper Larsen
15–10, 15–9 Winner
1998 World Grand Prix Finals Halim Haryanto Antonius Ariantho
Denny Kantono
11–15, 15–5, 11–15 Runner-up
1999 All England Open Candra Wijaya Lee Dong-soo
Yoo Yong-sung
15–7, 15–5 Winner
1999 Malaysia Open Candra Wijaya Eng Hian
Flandy Limpele
15–6, 15–11 Winner
1999 Singapore Open Candra Wijaya Choong Tan Fook
Lee Wan Wah
7–15, 15–14, 12–15 Runner-up
1999 Indonesia Open Candra Wijaya Rexy Mainaky
Ricky Subagja
12–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1999 World Grand Prix Finals Candra Wijaya Ha Tae-kwon
Kim Dong-moon
15–7, 8–15, 15–11 Winner
2000 Chinese Taipei Open Candra Wijaya Cheah Soon Kit
Yap Kim Hock
15–7, 15–7 Winner
2000 Japan Open Candra Wijaya Lee Dong-soo
Yoo Yong-sung
15–6, 15–7 Winner
2000 Indonesia Open Candra Wijaya Eng Hian
Flandy Limpele
14–17, 15–8, 15–8 Winner
2000 World Grand Prix Finals Candra Wijaya Sigit Budiarto
Halim Haryanto
7–5, 8–6, 7–2 Winner
2002 U.S. Open Khan Malaythong Howard Bach
Kevin Han
11–15, 15–7, 15–7 Winner
2002 Puerto Rico Open Khan Malaythong José Antonio Crespo
Sergio Llopis
15–6, 15–3 Winner
2003 U.S. Open Khan Malaythong Lee Sung-yuan
Lin Wei-hsiang
6–15, 15–4, 15–5 Winner
2004 U.S. Open Howard Bach Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen
15–5, 15–7 Winner
2004 Dutch Open Howard Bach Thomas Laybourn
Peter Steffensen
15–8, 15–7 Winner
2005 Bitburger Open Halim Haryanto Mike Beres
William Milroy
15–3, 15–6 Winner
2005 Chinese Taipei Open Halim Haryanto Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen
15–13, 15–13 Winner
2006 Korea Open Candra Wijaya Hwang Ji-man
Lee Jae-jin
21–18, 21–18 Winner
2006 Indonesia Open Candra Wijaya Markis Kido
Hendra Setiawan
21–11, 21–16 Winner
2006 U.S. Open Halim Haryanto Vitalij Durkin
Aleksandr Nikolaenko
21–10, 21–19 Winner
2006 Japan Open Candra Wijaya Koo Kien Keat
Tan Boon Heong
21–15, 21–14 Winner
2008 Chinese Taipei Open Candra Wijaya Mathias Boe
Carsten Mogensen
14–21, 20–22 Runner-up
2009 U.S. Open Howard Bach Jürgen Koch
Peter Zauner
21–12, 21–9 Winner
2011 U.S. Open Howard Bach Ko Sung-hyun
Lee Yong-dae
9–21, 19–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2002 U.S. Open Etty Tantri Simon Archer
Marina Andrievskaya
7–11, 11–4, 11–6 Winner
2002 Puerto Rico Open Mesinee Mangkalakiri Tjitte Weistra
Doriana Rivera
11–2, 11–3 Winner
2003 U.S. Open Etty Tantri Hwang Ji-man
Lee Eun-woo
15–5, 15–9 Winner
2005 Chinese Taipei Open Cheng Wen-hsing Devin Lahardi Fitriawan
Vita Marissa
17–15, 15–6 Winner
2012 U.S. Open Vita Marissa Kenichi Hayakawa
Misaki Matsutomo
21–13, 21–10 Winner

IBF/BWF International Challenge/Series (8 titles, 2 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2005 U.S. International Hsieh Yu-hsing 2–15, 2–15 Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1997 French International Victo Wibowo Davis Efraim
Halim Haryanto
15–10, 15–8 Winner
2002 Southern Pan Am Classic Khan Malaythong Philippe Bourret
Alexandre Tremblay
15–4, 15–4 Winner
2005 SCBA International Howard Bach Raju Rai
Khan Malaythong
1–0 Retired Winner
2005 U.S. International Howard Bach Mike Beres
William Milroy
15–1, 15–2 Winner
2011 Peru International Howard Bach Adrian Liu
Derrick Ng
21–10, 21–9 Winner
2012 Peru International Howard Bach Adrian Liu
Derrick Ng
13–21, 21–13, 21–9 Winner
2017 U.S. International Vinson Chiu Daniel Benz
Andreas Heinz
16–21, 21–14, 21–14 Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2002 USA Southern Pan Am International Mesinee Mangkalakiri Philippe Bourret
Denyse Julien
11–3, 11–5 Winner
2016 Manhattan Beach International Mirabelle Huang David Yedija Pohan
Jenna Gozali
15–21, 13–21 Runner-up

IBF International (1 runner-up)

Boys' singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
1994 German Junior Jeffer Rosobin Runner-up [12]

Invitational tournaments

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
1997 Copenhagen Masters Candra Wijaya Simon Archer
Chris Hunt
15–13, 15–8 Winner [13]
1999 Ipoh Masters Candra Wijaya Flandy Limpele
Eng Hian
15–11, 15–9 Winner [14]
2000 Copenhagen Masters Halim Haryanto Flandy Limpele
Eng Hian
7–8, 7–5, 4–7, 7–5, 5–7 Runner-up [15]
2005 Copenhagen Masters Howard Bach Cai Yun
Fu Haifeng
15–12, 11–15, 15–4 Winner [16]

Performance timeline

Indonesian team

  • Senior level
Team Events 1998
Asian Games Gold
Team Events 2000
Thomas Cup Gold

Individual competitions

  • Senior level
Event 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011
BWF World Championships R3 QF Gold A Gold A QF QF R1 R1
Event 2000 2004 2008 2012
Olympics Gold A A GS

Notes

  1. ^ Based on data on the official website, Tony Gunawan represented Indonesia at the 2017 World Masters Games.

References

  1. ^ latimes.com
  2. ^ "BULU TANGKIS OLIMPIADE: Kini Perkuat AS, Tony Gunawan Punya Romantisme Tersendiri" (in Indonesian). Espos. August 1, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  3. ^ Beck, Robyn (September 21, 2000). "OLY2000-BAD-INA-MEDAL". Getty Images.
  4. ^ "World Masters Games 2017 - A Grade, Men's Doubles - 35+ - 1st-3rd". Badminton New Zealand Tournamentsoftware. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "World Masters Games 2017 - A Grade, Men's Doubles - 40+ - 1st-3rd". Badminton New Zealand Tournamentsoftware. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Liew, Vincent (September 27, 2015). "Indonesia win four golds at Senior World Championships in Sweden". Badminton Planet. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  7. ^ Kurnia Harinanto, Candra (September 18, 2023). "Para Legenda Bulu Tangkis Indonesia Berjaya di Kejuaraan Dunia Senior 2023" (in Indonesian). Jawa Pos. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  8. ^ "Tony Gunawan (left) and Howard Bach of the United States celebrate winning the gold in the men's doubles badminton event at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico". Badminton Planet. October 2011.
  9. ^ "XVI Pan Am Games, Guadalajara 2011". Badminton World Federation. October 20, 2011.
  10. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. December 15, 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007.
  11. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  12. ^ "German Junior" (in German). badminton.de. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "COPENHAGEN MASTERS: SUN JUN, CAMILLA MASTER THE MASTERS". World Badminton. December 30, 1997. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ipoh Masters: Peter G. Wallops Peter R. In Final". World Badminton. November 6, 1999.
  15. ^ "Copenhagen Masters 2000". Badminton Denmark. Archived from the original on July 25, 2001. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  16. ^ "Copenhagen Masters 2005". Badminton Ranks. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
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