KUALA LUMPUR: Ask anyone on the street, and nobody would have guessed that Grammy Award winner Ed Sheeran played a game of badminton with Malaysian mixed doubles specialist Chan Peng Soon.
The British pop sensation, who was in town last week for his +-=÷× (Mathematics) Tour's Asian leg, shared a lighthearted video of the things he did before wowing more than 12,000 fans at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday night.
Among the highlights of his visit was having a go at badminton with 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist Peng Soon.
Peng Soon, who doubles up as an independent player and the founder of CPS Badminton Academy, said he never expected to be called up for such a game.
"It was a real experience for me because Ed is such a nice guy.
"When I got called up, I thought this was such a nice way to promote the sport and also our country.
"If you watch his video, Ed actually mentions that Malaysians love badminton.
"We played for about an hour and then exchanged jerseys. I gave him my CPS Badminton Academy jersey, and he gave me one of his favourite English football club, Ipswich Town," Peng Soon told Timesport.
Peng Soon, 36, is most fondly remembered for his long partnership with Goh Liu Ying.
The Penang-born has two training centres, in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, and is planning to open a third in Johor soon.
After a long and illustrious career, Peng Soon will hang up his racquet mid-this year and focus fully on his Academy.
