Badminton: Axelsen and host of world and regional champs to play at Singapore Open

World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and other champions have confirmed their entry for the July 12-17 Singapore Badminton Open. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

SINGAPORE - World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, as well as newly crowned SEA Games champions Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Pornpawee Chochuwong have confirmed their entry for the July 12-17 Singapore Badminton Open.

The trio are looking to win the US$370,000 (S$507,000) event for the first time, and while Olympic champion Axelsen will undoubtedly be the favourite to break his duck in Singapore, the Dane will face stiff competition from the likes of three-time world youth champion Kunlavut.

They will be joined by other high-profile players such as Singapore world champion Loh Kean Yew, who was beaten by Kunlavut in the SEA Games men's singles final on Sunday (May 22).

Other top Thais who will feature at the Singapore Indoor Stadium are 2016 women's singles champion Ratchanok Intanon, as well as world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, the world's top mixed doubles pair.

Dechapol and Sapsiree had made the final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Sunday but were beaten by China's Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, the Asian champions.

Elsewhere, China will be sending a strong team which will include women's doubles world champions Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan and Olympic women's singles champion Chen Yu Fei.

Yu Fei, who fell 21-15, 17-21, 21-12 to world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in Sunday's Thailand Open final, will be hoping to go one better in Singapore.

India's 2019 women's singles world champion P. V. Sindhu will also be here.

Early-bird ticket sales have commenced, with season passes starting from $100 for a family bundle of two tickets, to $488 for a platinum pass which comes with an exclusive seat complete with food and beverages.

A single-day ticket starts from $5 for children and $30 for adults, to $350 for a single-day premium seat on the final day.

These are available via Ticketmaster, and fans will enjoy early-bird rates until Tuesday (May 31) before general sales begin from Wednesday to July 17.

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