Originally from Jakarta, Ronald moved to Singapore when he was 14 for Anglo Chinese (Independent) secondary school. He has been playing badminton since he was eight years old, but it was at school in Singapore that he really found his game. Ronald joined the Singapore Badminton Association in 1998 and trained with the national team since then. Through hardwork and perseverance, he dominated the national level during his playing career and progressed into the international level. The highlight of his career came in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games where he had the honour of being the contingent's flag-bearer. He repaid that honour with the defeat of the No.1 player in the world, Lin Dan of China. The historic achievement of defeating the World Number 1 and making the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games was enough to earn him the Sportsman of the Year title in 2005.