Vietnam’s top seed confirms participation
Singapore, One of the most popular sporting events in Singapore, the Aviva Open Singapore will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 9 to 14 June 2009 and a star-studded line-up is expected to battle for the total prize purse of US$200,000.
Organised by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) with partner Singapore Sports Council (SSC) and sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), more than 250 top international shuttlers from about 28 countries are expected to take part in the tournament across five categories including, Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Besides the lucrative prize money, the shuttlers will also be playing to gather precious points in the Super Series event that will count towards their world rankings.
The first player to confirm for the tournament is Vietnamese player, Nguyen Tien Minh. Nguyen is Vietnam’s top seed and ranked 18th in the world (as of 23 Apr). Organisers have also received strong indication from the Badminton Association of Malaysia on the participation of some of their top players including Aviva Open Singapore defending champion, Lee Chong Wei. Other entries from participating nations are expected to be received after 5 May 2009.
Singapore will be sending its entire national team to try to qualify for the tournament including Derek Wong, Ashton Chen, Xing Aiying, Hendra Wijaya, Hendri Kurniawan Saputra, Shinta Mulia Sari, Yao Lei and Li Yujia. Xing Aiying was a quarter-finalist in the Aviva Open Singapore last year and will be returning this year to try and improve on her performance. Fresh off her World Junior triumph in women’s doubles, Yao Lei will also be looking to put her best foot forward at the event. Men’s doubles finalists at the Indian Open, Hendra and Hendri, will also join forces again at the Aviva Open Singapore 2009 and take on some of the world’s most formidable duos.
Chairman of the Aviva Open Singapore’s Organizing Committee, Mr Ng Yoke Weng, said, “This event is one of the most well-attended sports events in Singapore, attracting some of the biggest names in badminton to compete here. With Aviva’s unwavering support, we are confident that this year will be bigger and better with greater excitement amongst the players and spectators alike.”
Mr Ng, who is also the Vice-President of the Singapore Badminton Association, added, “The Aviva Open Singapore 2009 is a key event on the local badminton circuit as it gives our local players the opportunity to play on a highly competitive level and learn from the best in the sport. The tournament also serves as great inspiration for our budding shuttlers as they prepare for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in 2010.”
Aviva is proud to support SBA and local shuttlers in their vision to achieve excellence in badminton. Into its sixth year of sponsoring the event, Aviva has shown its commitment in putting on a great tournament for not just the players, but also fans of the sport. Shaun Meadows, CEO of Aviva Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East, said, "Badminton is played by 140,000 people every week in Singapore. As one of the most popular sport in Singapore, at least 1 badminton racquet is found in most homes and the game is played in many Singaporean's backyards, in playgrounds, at void decks, sports halls and in schools. Since our sponsorship in 2004, more than 150,000 people have seen world-class badminton action every year displaying speed, agility and precision at the Indoor Stadium and we hope that through our sponsorship of the Aviva Open Singapore, we can encourage people of all ages to embrace badminton and other similar sports as part of their journey towards a healthier lifestyle and to embrace protection, savings and investments as part of their journey towards a sound financial health."
One of the activities to get the public excited about the event this year include the “World’s Largest Rally”, where Singaporeans are encouraged to be part of Aviva’s attempt to set a Guinness World Record of the biggest number of people taking part in a badminton rally. Members of the public are invited to visit the sports complexes at Hougang, Jurong East, Bedok and Bishan on 16 May where they will be given an opportunity to qualify for the main record attempt at Raffles City on 23 May. Local badminton greats Wong Shoon Keat, Hamid Khan, Zarinah Abdullah, Ronald Susilo and other players are also among some of the names who will be part of the record attempt.
Tickets for the Aviva Open Singapore 2009 are available at SISTIC at www.sistic.com as well as at all authorised outlets from today. Early bird discounts are available for all fans of badminton until 3 May 2009.
For more details on the Aviva Open Singapore 2009, please visit the official website www.singaporebadmintonopen.sg.
