Tony Gunawan

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.

Tony Gunawan
Howard Bach (left) and Tony Gunawan (right) at the 2011 US Open
Personal information
Country	Indonesia (until 2001) United States (2001–present)
Born	(1975-04-09) April 9, 1975 (age 50) Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Residence	Orange, California, United States
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse	Etty Tantri ​ (m. 2002)​
Coach	Christian Hadinata Herry Iman Pierngadi
Highest ranking	1
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  United States World Championships 2005 Anaheim Men's doubles World Cup 2005 Yiyang Men's doubles World Masters Games 2017 Auckland Men's doubles 35+[a] 2017 Auckland Men's doubles 40+ World Senior Championships 2015 Helsingborg Men's doubles 35+ 2023 Jeonju Men's doubles 45+ 2025 Pattaya Men's doubles 40+ 2025 Pattaya Mixed 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 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

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.

Awards

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][4]

World Championships

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2001	Palacio de Deportes de San Pablo, Seville, Spain	Halim Haryanto	Ha Tae-kwon Kim Dong-moon	15–0, 15–13	Gold	[5]
2005	Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States	Howard Bach	Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya	15–11, 10–15, 15–11	Gold	[6]

World Cup

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2005	Olympic Park, Yiyang, China	Howard Bach	Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya	18–21, 9–21	Bronze	[7]

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	[8]
2017	40+	Auckland Badminton Centre, Auckland, New Zealand	Effendy Widjaja	Tri Kusharjanto Hariyanto Arbi	20–22, 14–21	Silver	[9]

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	[10]
2023	45+	Hwasan Indoor Stadium, Jeonju, South Korea	Tri Kusharjanto	Naruenart Chuaymak Thaweesak Koetsriphan	21–14, 21–13	Gold	[11]
2025	40+	Eastern National Sports Training Centre, Pattaya, Thailand	Hendra Setiawan	Boonsak Ponsana Jakrapan Thanathiratham	21–18, 21–16	Gold	[12]

Mixed doubles

Year	Age	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2025	45+	Eastern National Sports Training Centre, Pattaya, Thailand	Rebecca Pantaney	Hosemari Fujimoto Fumika Hashimoto	15–21, 18–21	Bronze	[13]

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	[14][15]

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	Ref
1996	Olympic Gymnasium No. 2, Seoul, South Korea	Rudy Wijaya	Kim Dong-moon Yoo Yong-sung	10–15, 8–15	Silver	[16][17]

SEA Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2001	Malawati Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia	Bambang Suprianto	Candra Wijaya Sigit Budiarto	4–15, 6–15	Silver	[18]

BWF Superseries (1 title, 4 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[19] 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.^[20] 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	Ref
2007	Malaysia Open	Candra Wijaya	Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong	15–21, 18–21	Runner-up	[21][22]
2007	Japan Open	Candra Wijaya	Luluk Hadiyanto Alvent Yulianto	21–18, 21–17	Winner	[23]
2007	Hong Kong Open	Candra Wijaya	Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan	12–21, 21–18, 13–21	Runner-up	[24]
2008	Indonesia Open	Candra Wijaya	Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari	21–19, 18–21, 14–21	Runner-up	[25]
2010	Singapore Open	Howard Bach	Fang Chieh-min Lee Sheng-mu	14–21, 15–21	Runner-up	[26]

  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	Ref
2002	USA Southern Pan Am International	Mesinee Mangkalakiri	Philippe Bourret Denyse Julien	11–3, 11–5	Winner	[27]
2016	Manhattan Beach International	Mirabelle Huang	David Yedija Pohan Jenna Gozali	15–21, 13–21	Runner-up	[28]

IBF International (1 runner-up)

Boys' singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
1994	German Junior	Jeffer Rosobin		Runner-up	[29]

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	[30]
1999	Ipoh Masters	Candra Wijaya	Flandy Limpele Eng Hian	15–11, 15–9	Winner	[31]
2000	Copenhagen Masters	Halim Haryanto	Flandy Limpele Eng Hian	7–8, 7–5, 4–7, 7–5, 5–7	Runner-up	[32]
2005	Copenhagen Masters	Howard Bach	Cai Yun Fu Haifeng	15–12, 11–15, 15–4	Winner	[33]

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. However, he actually moved to the United States in 2002, the data on the official website is probably wrong.