Eddie Lim Yit Min

Eddie Lim Yit Min

File:Eddie Lim.jpg

Eddie Lim Yit Min (Chinese: 林义铭; born 7 February 1985) is a Malaysian national Taekwondo athlete and entrepreneur.

Eddie Lim Yit Min (Chinese: 林义铭; born 7 February 1985) is a Malaysian national Taekwondo athlete and entrepreneur.

Lim began training in Taekwondo from the age of 8 and became the national champion at 11 years old. His talent earned him a place in the Malaysian national team by the time he was 16, while his leadership merited him with the Captain’s armband, despite being the youngest member of the squad. As a national athlete, he has represented Malaysia in multiple regional and world class tournaments.                                   

Lim’s journey into the realm of business started at the age of 21 when he started his first venture during his college days before founding Youth World Development Sdn Bhd in 2011. In 2017, Youth World was also awarded the ASEAN Outstanding Business Awards under the Outstanding Education Campaign Category.

Lim is currently the Head of the Youth Bureau under the ASEAN Retailers and Franchise Federation, an association heavily invested in promoting the economy and development of trade across various industries within the ASEAN and beyond.

Early Years

Lim was born on 7 February 1985, to Lim Yiew Tan and Yap Hoing Wah and is the eldest child of two. His mother worked in the insurance industry for 35 years until she retires in April 2020 as an Assistant Manager in Marketing for an insurance company.

Lim’s father worked in the banking industry until he retired as a Bank Officer in 2000.

Eddie was an active child, playing many sports during his schooling years, including football, badminton, and hockey. He took up Taekwondo at the age of 8 and became the national junior champion in the Poomsae (demonstration) event at the age of 11 before moving on to the more competitive sparring events at the age of 13.

Upon his graduation from his secondary school, he was awarded the prestigious ASEAN Scholarship, apart from another full scholarship from a local university. Due to his involvement with the national Taekwondo team, he decided to forgo both scholarships in order to continue representing his country in the sport that he loved.

After retiring from the national Taekwondo team, he decided to resume his tertiary education pursuits. He subsequently completed his degree in finance at HELP University under a full scholarship.

Career

Sports

Lim took up Taekwondo at the age of 8. He became the national junior champion at the age of 11 in the Poomsae (demonstration) event. At 13 years old, he made the transition to the more competitive Kyorugi (sparring) events. He won his first major national junior title in the sparring events a year later at 14 years old. At 16, he officially became a member of the national junior team under the Malaysia Taekwondo Association. Lim won his first international medal in the Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships that year, becoming the bronze medalist in the title championship.

The following year, at 17 years old, he would go on to win the only gold medal for Malaysia in the Korean Open International Taekwondo Championships. He also became the first and only Malaysian to win the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same tournament, selected from a field of over 1,500 athletes worldwide.

Following his success in the Korean Open International Taekwondo Championships, Lim went on to represent Malaysia in the World Taekwondo Junior Championships held in Greece.  

After his transition into the national senior team, he was selected as one of only four Malaysians to make the cut for both the Regional and World Qualifiers for the Athens Olympic Games.

Lim was the sole Malaysian in the men’s category to win a gold medal in the 22nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam during his debut feature for the Games. He defeated two Olympians –  Ussadate Sutthikunkarn of Thailand and Nguyen Quoc Huan of Vietnam – despite being the youngest participant in his weight class. He became the youngest Malaysian male to win a gold medal in the SEA Games for Malaysia at that time, at 18 years of age.

Due to his contribution to the martial art, he was presented with the Malaysia Taekwondo Association’s Year 2001 “Most Promising Player” Award and was also nominated to be the National Olympian of the Year 2004.

Career Highlights

International

IntroductionYear	Tournament	Category	Medal
Introduction2001	1st Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships, Taiwan	Under 55kg	Bronze
Introduction2002	Kyonggi International Open Taekwondo Championships, Korea	Under 55kg	Bronze
	5th International Taekwondo Korea Open Championships	Under 55kg	Gold
	World Taekwondo Junior Championships, Greece	Under 55kg	Quarter Finalist
2003	2nd LG-Vietnam Taekwondo Open	Under 58kg	Bronze
	Olympics Qualification Tournament, Paris	Under 58kg	Preliminary
	22nd Southeast Asian Games , Vietnam	Under 58kg	Gold
2004	Olympics Qualification Tournament, Thailand	Under 58kg	Preliminary
2008	National Singapore Taekwondo Tournament, Singapore	Under 58kg	Preliminary

National    

Year	Tournament	Category	Medal
Introduction 1999	National Youth Taekwondo Championship	48-51kg	Gold
	National Inter-club Taekwondo Championships	48-51kg	Gold
2000	National Inter-club Taekwondo Championships	51-55kg	Gold
2001	National Youth Taekwondo Championship	51-55kg	Gold
2008	Selangor Invitational Taekwondo Championships	Under 58kg	Gold
	National Taekwondo Tournament	Under 58kg	Gold
	MTF National Taekwondo Tournament	Under 58kg	Gold
	National Inter-club Taekwondo Tournament	Under 58kg	Gold
2009	MAPCU Taekwondo Tournament	Under 58kg	Gold
		Poomsae (Men’s Individual)	Gold

                                   

Life After Sports

Upon retirement from professional martial arts, Eddie founded Youth World, a company involved primarily in youth development programs to unleash the potential in youths. In just 8 months, the company received a nomination for the 2010 Asian Youth Ambassadors Awards under the Youth Friendly Company of the Year Category and eventually making it to the top three companies shortlisted for the award.

In 2017, Youth World was also awarded the ASEAN Outstanding Business Awards under the Outstanding Education Campaign Category. Lim received the award from the then Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing, and Local Government, Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Noh bin Haji Omar. The awards ceremony was organized by the ASEAN Retail Chains and Franchise Federation (ARFF).

In 2019, Lim was appointed as the Deputy Head of the Youth Bureau under the ARFF to lead the formation of the bureau and to assist the federation in its work to champion the promotion and development of retail chains, franchise, tourism and shopping industries within the 10 ASEAN countries and beyond.

Apart from his duties at Youth World and the ARFF, Lim is also a speaker and trainer in the field of personal safety and self-defence. His work has been featured in various newspapers, television programs, and radio stations.