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 Olympic gold medal and world champion title.

Tony Gunawan
Personal information
CountryIndonesia (until 2001)
United States (2001–present)
Born (1975-04-09) April 9, 1975 (age 49)
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
CoachChristian Hadinata
Herry Iman Pierngadi
Highest ranking1
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Anaheim Men's doubles
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Yiyang Men's doubles
World Senior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Helsingborg Men's doubles 35+
Gold medal – first place 2023 Jeonju Men's doubles 45+
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Men's doubles
Representing  Indonesia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Men's doubles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Seville Men's doubles
World Masters Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Auckland Men's doubles 35+[a]
Silver medal – second place 2017 Auckland Men's doubles 40+
Sudirman Cup
Silver medal – second place 2001 Seville Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Copenhagen Mixed team
Thomas Cup
Gold medal – first place 1998 Hong Kong Men's team
Gold medal – first place 2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1998 Bangkok Men's team
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Jakarta Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2001 Manila Men's doubles
Asian Cup
Silver medal – second place 1996 Seoul Men's doubles
Asia Cup
Gold medal – first place 1999 Ho Chi Minh Men's team
SEA Games
Silver medal – second place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2001 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
BWF profile

Career

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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's 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 is the winner of 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

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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.

Achievements

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Olympic Games

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Men's doubles

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

World Championships

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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

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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

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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 [2]
2017 40+ Auckland Badminton Centre,
Auckland, New Zealand
  Effendy Widjaja   Tri Kusharjanto
  Hariyanto Arbi
20–22, 14–21   Silver [3]

World Senior Championships

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Men's doubles

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

Pan American Games

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Men's doubles

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

Asian Championships

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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

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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

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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)

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The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[4] 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.[5] 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)

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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)

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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)

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Boys' singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
1994 German Junior   Jeffer Rosobin   Runner-up [6]

Invitational Tournament

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Men's doubles

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

Performance timeline

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Indonesian team

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

Individual competitions

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  • 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

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

References

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  1. ^ latimes.com
  2. ^ "World Masters Games 2017 - A Grade, Men's Doubles - 35+ - 1st-3rd". Badminton New Zealand Tournamentsoftware. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "World Masters Games 2017 - A Grade, Men's Doubles - 40+ - 1st-3rd". Badminton New Zealand Tournamentsoftware. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. December 15, 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "German Junior" (in German). badminton.de. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
General
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