| Ho Ro Bin | |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Birth Place: | Penang, Malaysia |
| Occupation: | Martial artist, athlete |
| Sport: | Wushu |
| Event: | Nanquan, Nandao, Nangun |
| Team: | Malaysia Wushu Team |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Ho Ro Bin is a retired competitive wushu taolu athlete and actor from Malaysia. He is the first Malaysian athlete who have won gold medals in all major international wushu competitions including the World Wushu Championships, Asian Games, Asian Wushu Championships, and the SEA Games.[1]
Born in Penang, Ho started wushu at the age of 12 under Chiong Ah Chaw.[2] [3] At the age of 18, he moved to Kuala Lumpur to train under Chin Hoong Yip and joined the first full-time Malaysian Wushu Team in 2000.
Ho's international debut was at the 1996 Asian Wushu Championships where he won the bronze medal in nanquan. A year later, he competed in the 1997 SEA Games and won a silver medal in qiangshu and a bronze medal in nanquan.[4] At the 1998 Asian Games, he won a bronze medal in men's nanquan as part of a three-way tie.[5] He then competed in the 1999 World Wushu Championships where he became the first world champion in nandao.[6] Ahead of the 2001 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Ho considered retiring from wushu and becoming a coach. At the event, he won gold medals in nanquan and nandao/nangun combined and thus withdrew his retirement plans.[7]
A year later, Ho won the gold medal in men's nanquan at the 2002 Asian Games.[8] [9] [10] He was then voted to be Olympian of the Year by the Olympic Council of Malaysia.[11] [12] At the 2003 World Wushu Championships, Ho won the silver medal in nanquan and the bronze medal in nangun.[13] He then won the gold medal in nandao and the silver medal in nanquan at the 2004 Asian Wushu Championships.[14] A year later, Ho competed in the 2005 SEA Games and won the silver medal in nanquan.[15] His last major competition was then at the 2005 World Wushu Championships where he was once again the world champion in nandao.[16]
In 2006, Ho announced his retirement from competitive wushu. The following year, he starred in Kinta 1881 which is viewed as Malaysia's first martial arts film. He also opened his own wushu school, the Ho Ro Bin Wushu Centre.[17]
