Indonesians round up Singapore Open line-up

Ticket sales rise as April 9-14 competition to feature world No. 1 players from all 5 events

Marcus Gideon (left) and Kevin Sukamuljo will spearhead Indonesia's challenge in the men's doubles at the Singapore Open. The Indonesian contingent will also include Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie.
Marcus Gideon (left) and Kevin Sukamuljo will spearhead Indonesia's challenge in the men's doubles at the Singapore Open. The Indonesian contingent will also include Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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 Chinese Taipei (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 .

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."

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 of 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."


• Early-bird sales end today before midnight, and are available on Sports Hub Tix and ApacTix

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 28, 2019, with the headline Indonesians round up Singapore Open line-up. Subscribe