The venue as it was at noon today. (It's a hastily shot photo - and that's why the quality is terrible )
Ratchanok wants to taste victory again Ratchanok Intanon will need to overcome China’s world No 2 Wang Yihan, whom she has not beaten before, to claim the title. Photo: Getty Images Thai has not won any tournament since surprise world title win last August By Low Lin Fhoong Published: April 8, 4:12 AM SINGAPORE — One should not be fooled by Ratchanok Intanon’s soft-spoken demeanour and cute pink braces. For beneath that 1.68m, 55-kg frame lies a young Thai fighter who is clearly punching above her weight in the international badminton circuit. At the Badminton World Federation World Championships last August, the then-18-year-old stunned world No 1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China 22-20, 18-21, 21-14 in the women’s singles final to become the youngest women’s champion. Her historic title win — a first for any Thai shuttler — catapulted the teenager to fame back home, with victory celebrations that included a meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at the Government House, a cash reward of 2 million baht (S$77,600) and numerous appearances on popular talk shows and magazines. These days, Ratchanok cannot walk down a Bangkok street without getting stopped for photos, but the 19-year-old has also struggled to cope with the pressures of her new-found fame. A three-time World Junior champion (2009-2011), she has been win-less in seven tournaments since her world championships triumph and was recently defeated 2-0 by Li in the All-England semi-finals last month. “After winning the world championships, there was a lot of pressure. At the time when I won, I did not have much experience so I didn’t know how to deal with the pressure,” said the world No 4, who is one of the players headlining this week’s OUE Singapore Open. “(People) want me to be world No 1 ... a lot of players also wanted to beat me. I also had a lot of expectations of myself and I could not play my game.” Born to sweet factory workers in north-east Thailand, Ratchanok was introduced to badminton at the age of six by the factory owner, who saw the workers’ children running around the vats of boiling water and sugar. She went on to capture her first world junior title at the age of 14 — becoming the youngest junior champion — before claiming the hat-trick in 2011 and winning her first senior world championship last year. The fiercely competitive player is keen to claim her first Super Series title of the season at the OUE Singapore Open, but will need to overcome China’s twin threats of world No 2 Wang Yihan — whom she has not beaten in eight outings — and Li in the semi-finals and final at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. She will face Malaysia’s Tee Jing Yi in the first round tomorrow before a possible match-up against world No 8 Saina Nehwal of India in the top eight. “I have not beaten Wang Yihan before ... experience plays a big part because, when the points are tight, her decision-making is better than mine,” said Ratchanok. “Right now, I want to learn as much as I can and get more experience, and study my opponents’ styles. I have also learnt how to handle pressure and I want to play to my training standard.” Team Singapore’s shuttlers will also be in action at the US$300,000 (S$378,000) tournament from today till Sunday, with newly-crowned Malaysia Grand Prix Gold champions Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart, and All-England mixed doubles quarter-finalists Vanessa Neo and Danny leading the charge. Players told TODAY that the mood among the Singapore camp remains upbeat despite the recent decisions by senior players Ashton Chen and Terry Yeo to quit the game. Chen will retire after the Singapore Open, while Yeo has quit due to study and work commitments. Top women’s singles player Gu Juan (No 25) — who qualified for the top eight of the All-England in 2011 — is also reconsidering her future in the sport, citing injury and a lack of motivation. The OUE Singapore Open will be the first major test for the Singaporeans after poor performances at last year’s Super Series tournament and SEA Games in December triggered a coaching revamp that saw chief singles coach Luan Ching replaced by Liu Qingdong. Said Danny at yesterday’s press conference: “Of course we will feel affected when someone leaves the team, but we will support them in what they do. We feel more motivated now and everybody is training together and working together. I believe we (Chayut and I) can improve and do better as we believe in each other and want to get the best result.” Visit www.singaporebadmintonopen.sg for more information on the event.
More high-profile withdrawals for S'pore Open as Tago and Boonsak pull out Published on Apr 07, 2014 5:28 PM Japan's third-seeded Kenichi Tago (above) and two-time men's singles champion Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand have both pulled out of the OUE Singapore Open. -- PHOTO: AFP By May Chen The OUE Singapore Open has been hit by a string of late withdrawals on Monday, just a day before the badminton tournament begins. Men's second seed Kenichi Tago of Japan, and two-time men's singles champion Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand (fourth seed) were the latest to join the list after a team managers' meeting. They join defending men's champion and third seed Tommy Sugiarto, as well as Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, both of whom pulled out last week. This leaves Malaysia's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei as the only one among the men's top four seeds who will be playing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Reigning world women's singles champion Ratchanok Intanon, however, will still be featuring at the Super Series tournament. China's defending women's singles champion Wang Yihan will also be competing.
Badminton: Derek Wong to play in first round of S'pore Open By John Leong POSTED: 07 Apr 2014 20:26 SINGAPORE: Singapore's top-ranked male shuttler, Derek Wong, will take part in the first round of the OUE Singapore Open for the first time. He replaces world number three Kenicho Tago, one of four high-profile withdrawals from the men's singles competition which kicks off on April 8. Wong, together with his teammates and other top-ranked shuttlers from the region, met the media on Monday ahead of the tournament. Wong, ranked 47th in the world, was originally meant to play in the qualifiers -- a stage he failed to get past last year. However, the withdrawals mean Wong now gets an automatic place in the first round. He said: "At this level, everybody has a chance. Every opponent in the main draw is equally difficult to play against. It's a 50-50 chance... This year, I'm already in the first round of the tournament, and hopefully I can make it into the second round. That's my expectation." Wong has enjoyed credible showings recently, most notably at the All England Open in March. He qualified for the first round there before narrowly losing to a top-20 opponent. - CNA/ac
No, I'm not in Singapore. I may get a chance to visit one day, though; now I'll have to make sure I time the visit to coincide with the Singapore Open so that I can take someone up on their offer.
....we're waiting for you .... Wherever you are.... BTW where's Normandy? In France, England or Germany ... Or something you just made up?
LOL, no! I was actually on a trip to Rouen (in France) when I created this account - I only realized a few days ago that my "Location" was outdated and edited the info accordingly.
Four S'pore doubles pairs qualify for main draw of Open Published on Apr 8, 2014 Singapore's Danny Bawa Chrisnanta (left) and Chayut Triyachart in their match against Indonesia's Saputra Albert and Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki at the OUE Singapore Open on April 8, 2014. The pair were one of four doubles teams from the Republic to have qualified for the main draw of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. -- PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM By Terence Ong FOUR of Singapore's doubles pairs have qualified for the main draw of the OUE Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. The men's doubles' pair of Ashton Chen and Robin Gonansa qualified after seeing off India's Guru Prasad and Venkatesh Prasad 21-13, 21-17, while Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart are also through to the first round after defeating the Indonesian duo of Saputra Albert and Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki 21-15, 21-15. In the mixed doubles, Chayut Triyachart and Yao Lei, as well as Terry Hee and Fu Mingtian, sealed qualification into the main draw. Chayut and Yao defeated Japan's Takeshi Kamura and Misato Aratama 22-20, 21-12, while Hee and Fu beat Indonesia's Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto 17-21, 21-11, 21-17. The four doubles pairs join compatriots Derek Wong (men's singles), Gu Juan (women's singles), Tan Wei Han and Delis Yuliana (women's doubles) and Chrisnanta and Vanesse Neo (mixed doubles) in the main draw of the Open, which begins on Wednesday.
Bumped into Saralee Thoungthongkam, Duanganong Arunkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul while I was having breakfast at Kopi Tiam opposite of my workplace today. They seem to be staying nearby as Saralee was still in her casual attire. Unfortunately, Duanganong/Kunchala lost their morning match to Reika Kakiiwa/Miyuki Maeda [7]. Meanwhile, Adriyanti Firdasari continues her good form post MAS Open GPG 2014 as she strolls into the second-round after an easy victory over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 21-15, 21-17. I believe Firda will be called-up for Uber Cup duty. Firda will face the winner of the match between Lindaweni Fanetri and Sung Ji Hyun [5].
Meanwhile, Rian Agung Saputro/Angga Pratama beat Kang Jun/Liu Cheng in straight-sets to progress to R16. They are expected to reach SF to face Ahsan/Hendra. China also lost an XD pair as Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong lost in 3-sets to Maneepong Jongjit/Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
What a good surprise by Firda. i think Firda had more motivation since be an independent player. Anyway, do you know what kind of company is the new sponsor of this tournament??
OUE (formerly Overseas Union Enterprise) is a diversified real estate owner, developer and operator with a portfolio of assets in Singapore, and hotels in Malaysia and the PRC.
OUE is one of the companies owned by the Lippo Group. OUE's Chairman is the Indonesian billionaire Stephen Riady. OUE owns the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which you see when you exit Singapore's Changi Airport. They also own the Meritus Mandarin and the Marina Mandarin hotels in Singapore. Riady has been very generous with his money in Singapore although he operates out of Hong Kong. He has helped many institutions including academic and sports bodies - the NUS and the SBA are examples. He readily agreed to be the title sponsor for the Singapore Open after Li Ning pulled out and Yonex said they weren't interested. If he had not stepped in, the Singapore Open would have been downgraded to a GP Gold or GP tournament.
Stardom and overcoming nerves were challenges for world champion Ratchanok Intanon Overcoming nerves a challenge for world champion Ratchanok Intanon Published on Apr 8, 2014 Thai badminton star Ratchanok Intanon (left) holding court at the OUE Singapore Open media conference yesterday, with Thai-born Singapore shuttler Chayut Triyachart acting as her translator. Ratchanok admitted she is coming to terms with the pressure of being world champion. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN By May Chen WHEN Ratchanok Intanon last competed in Singapore in 2012, the Thai shuttler was a virtual unknown - still to win her first major title on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) circuit. How life has changed dramatically for the teenager since. The 19-year-old became a finalist at the prestigious All England Championships last year, captured her maiden Super Series title at the India Open, then went on to become the youngest-ever world champion - all while still sporting braces and a ponytail. But life under the microscope has not been easy for Ratchanok, who admitted she is struggling to deal with the limelight. - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/sp...enges-world-champion-rat#sthash.SHFYNtmX.dpuf
