SINGAPORE – The local badminton scene has been abuzz in the last 18 months as Singapore’s players notched significant results on tour, with the upswing in performances leading to increased interest from corporate partners.
That has seen the Singapore Badminton Open securing a title sponsor and presenting sponsor for the 2023 edition – a first for the Republic’s marquee sports event.
With the June 6-11 tournament upgraded from a Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 500 series event to Super 750 – which guarantees the participation of the top 15 singles players and top 10 doubles pairs – the Karim Family Foundation has come on board as title sponsor, while JK Technology will continue as its presenting sponsor.
Both deals are initially for a year and worth a total of several hundred thousand dollars. Property developer OUE was the Singapore Open’s last title sponsor in 2017.
Set up by the family of Indonesian businessman Bachtiar Karim and his wife Dewi Sukwanto, the Karim Family Foundation is focused on giving back to society, particularly in sports development, arts and culture, mental health, and education.
In 2022, the foundation donated $200,000 to top national men’s player Loh Kean Yew following his historic world championship win in December 2021.
Earlier that month, top national women’s player Yeo Jia Min became the first Singaporean to qualify for the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals. Loh would follow suit in December 2022.
Mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jessica Tan also had a sterling 2022 in which they won their first Super 500 title at the India Open, before triumphing at the Orleans Masters Super 100 event and claiming a historic gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
The future also looks bright with Johann Prajogo and Nge Joo Jie rising to the top of the junior men’s doubles world rankings on Dec 27.
Karim Family Foundation principal Cindy Karim said: “We are delighted to come on board as title sponsor of this esteemed tournament.
“This is our way of showing our commitment to supporting the sport and its growth in Singapore and developing the next generation of local shuttlers.
“We hope that the presence of local heroes like Loh Kean Yew and other top players will inspire young fans to continue pursuing the sport and work hard towards achieving sports excellence.”
Information technology solution-sourcing centre JK Technology, which was first involved in the Singapore Open in 2006, became a presenting sponsor in 2022 and has since extended its support.
JK Technology managing director Eugene Ang said: “As a badminton fan and following the progress of badminton in Singapore for the past few years, we are excited with the promotion of the Singapore Open to a Super 750 event.
“It is with great pleasure that JK Technology can continue to do our part to support the country’s most prestigious badminton tournament and welcome the world’s top players to Singapore.”
In addition to the Singapore Open sponsorship, both entities will also fund the development of national players and post-career initiatives. Further details will be announced later.
Singapore Badminton Association president Lawrence Leow said: “It’s great that both the Karim Family Foundation and JK Technology share the same vision as SBA that having the world’s best players competing on our shores in a world-class setting will be able to inspire future stars of the sport to follow in the footsteps of these incredible athletes.
“With their support, we are confident that this year’s tournament will be the best edition to date.”
Among the stars in town for the tournament are Olympic and world champion Viktor Axelsen, with the world No. 1 committed to playing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, and 78 per cent of season tickets, priced from $120 to $380, have been sold.
