Badminton: Simon Santoso to defend S'pore Open crown from qualifiers

Indonesian shuttler Simon Santoso will defend his OUE Singapore Open crown as a qualifier when the annual badminton tournament begins on Tuesday.

The world No. 38, who in 2009 was ranked as high as No. 3, will begin his title defence against Denmark's Emil Holst, with potential clashes against Malaysia's Chong Wei Feng and world No. 6 Viktor Axelsen.

Said Santoso: "I believe it will not be an easy task as the competition level is high and tougher, compared to last year.

"I will take things one at a time... in order to perform well for this year's competition."

Singapore's shuttlers have also been handed tricky draws, with top men's singles player Derek Wong having to negotiate Malaysia's Chong in his opening match in the qualifiers.

The Singapore Open begins on Tuesday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium until Sunday. Tickets are available through SportsHubTix.

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