Another boost for Singapore Badminton Open

World No. 1 players from all 5 events will be here for April 9-14 competition

Feb 28, 2019 06:00 am

With men's doubles pair Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo confirming their participation in the Singapore Badminton Open, the April 9-14 tournament will see the world No. 1 players of all five events competing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Organisers announced yesterday that the pair, the Asian Games champions, are part of a 50-strong contingent from Indonesia who will be in town.

The contingent includes men's singles world No. 7 Anthony Ginting and No. 9 Jonatan Christie, also an Asian Games champion.

The other top-ranked players are Kento Momota of Japan (men's singles), Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan (women's singles), Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota (women's doubles) and Chinese duo Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong (mixed doubles).

The Singapore Open's star-studded field will also feature China's top male shuttlers Lin Dan and Chen Long and Denmark's Viktor Axelsen, the men's singles world No. 6.

Singapore's representatives include Loh Kean Yew in the men's singles and Yeo Jia Min in the women's singles .

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Loh, who upset two-time Olympic champion Lin to win the Thailand Masters last month, said: "As a player and a fan of the sport, I'm excited that so many big names are going to be competing at the Singapore Open.

"This is going to be a huge test for myself and I hope to capitalise on the home support to push me to achieve great results and do Singapore proud."

TICKET SALES

The constellation of stars has resulted in an uptick in ticket sales, according to the organisers.

"We are heartened to see that ticket sales have increased 30 per cent against last year's week-on-week. This speaks volume of the growing support for badminton in Singapore," said Michael Foo, spokesman for the organising committee.

"Within the last two weeks, the ticket sales tripled since we announced the return of Lin Dan after a two-year absence and reigning world champion Kento Momota.

"Also, our local shuttler Loh Kean Yew's historic win against Lin Dan in Thailand earlier in the year brought about great public and media interest to badminton.

"This stellar line-up is definitely something badminton aficionados would not want to miss."

FYI

WHAT: Singapore Badminton Open

WHEN: April 9-14

WHERE: Singapore Indoor Stadium

WHO: Some of the world's top badminton players, including world No. 1 Kento Momota, five-time world champion Lin Dan and 2016 Olympic gold medallist Chen Long, will be here.

Top women's players include world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying, former Olympic champion Li Xuerui, and Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, Akane Yamaguchi and Sayaka Takahashi.