Badminton: Lee Chong Wei confirms his participation at the OUE Singapore Open

Malaysian world No. 1 badminton player Lee Chong Wei has confirmed his participation in April 8-13's OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Malaysian world No. 1 badminton player Lee Chong Wei has confirmed his participation in April 8-13's OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Malaysian world No. 1 badminton player Lee Chong Wei has confirmed his participation in April 8-13's OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The last time Singapore badminton fans saw Lee in action was in 2010. He won the men's singles title in 2008.

Said the 31-year-old: "It's been a long time since I last came here to meet my fans. Hope I can do well in the OUE Singapore Open."

Lee, a silver medallist in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from Aug 21, 2008 to June 14, 2012.

Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto, the reigning Singapore Open men's singles champion, will be back to defend his title. He came in unseeded last year, but managed to beat top players like Wang Zhengming, Ngyuen Tien Minh and Boonsak Ponsana to clinch his first ever SuperSeries title.

Japan's world No. 5 Kenichi Tago has also thrown his name into the hat, along with some of his up-and-coming compatriots like 20-year-old Kento Momota, the world No. 14.

More world-class action can be expected in the men's doubles with the inclusion of world No. 1 pair Hendra Setiawan and Mohamad Ahsan from Indonesia, and Japan's world No. 3 duo of Kenichi Hayakawa and Hiroyuki Endo.

Hendra and Ahsan had beaten Kenichi and Hiroyuki in straight sets during last year's Open, en route to winning the title.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.