Never thought I'd see Taufik cheering for Lin Dan ! Pretty festive atmosphere during the whole competition. And according to Team Europe manager Doormalen, "I think the players love to be here. They enjoy the atmosphere and the spectators as well. It’s just great." Really really hope there'll be a next one. Just wondering though why Tea Asia has a uniform and Team Europe doesn't. Is it because Europe has many sponsors and for Asia it's mainly Yonex?
@badplayer2004: i must admit, you did a very good job of updating scores here while watching kennie/kennevic vs. gail/nathan i could hardly blink much less take a look at my pc...what a game! i just hope this becomes a yearly event, maybe becoming the Ryder Cup of Badminton with IBF backing
News !! MVP Cup Part II in the works? The Philippine Star 07/15/2005 Sign that contract — in case you haven’t signed it yet. Martin van Dooremalen, the European team manager, said the other night that organizers of the MVP Cup Asia versus Europe Badminton Championship shouldn’t hesitate in making this event an annual event. "I know there’s a contract being signed for three years for this event. So I hope this will continue because as you see here I think it’s quite successful," said Dooremalen of the Netherlands. The European team captain was quite impressed with the outcome of the event, a first of its kind, where the top players from Asia, considered the stronghold of badminton, are pitted against their European counterparts. "And I think the players love to be here. They enjoy the atmosphere and the spectators as well. It’s just great," he said of the event, a brainchild of Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the sponsoring Smart and PLDT. Pangilinan has yet to confirm if indeed there’s a three-year contract for the event. But during last Monday’s press conference at the jampacked Isla Ballroom of the Edsa Shangri-La, he said "that’s the plan." The format, Dooremalen was quick to say, is just great. It calls for nine matches — three men’s singles, three ladies’ singles, and one men’s, ladies’ and mixed doubles. They are spread over three days with one point per match offered on the first day, two on the second and three on the last. With a total of 18 points at stake, the team that earns 10 points takes home the shining MVP Cup. "The format is quite exciting because the consecutive evenings we’re giving away one, two and three points. That makes it a very good format. In fact, even after the second evening it’s not decided yet. You’re just halfway with nine points," he said. Then there’s the prize — $50,000 to the winning team and $30,000 to the losing team. And the bragging rights, too. Is it really Asia or Europe when it comes to badminton? The MVP Cup should provide the answer. — Abac Cordero
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some amusing things I saw... Zhang Ning: throwing rolled T shirts to the crowd.. still does the same footwork and form as making a clear... Sara Lee: threw a shirt to the crowd.. really tried to make it go far, and feigned throwing her back.. Emm: likes to sing and dance... she was singiing and dancing to the song that was playing while the awarding ceremonies and props were being set up.. also caught her playing with a 5 (?) year old kid, throwing balloons at each other and just horsing around.. it was a very nice three nights...
I sincerely do hope they make this a regular event. Does anyone know if the format for this event makes it possible for IBF to sanction and award points for? Also, I would venture to say that slight more emphasis should be put on doubles rather than singles events. One reason is that it is more exciting and another is that it is by far the most popular mode of play over here. Still, hats off to MVP and Solar. Havent seen play like this since I watched the Thomas & Uber qualifiers here. What was that? 5, 6 years ago?
hi PBall. That kid is (I think) Nelson Asuncion's youngest son, and Kennevic's younger brother (he was wearing a shirt that had "Nelson Jr." printed on the back). Yeah, it was so nice to see Gail Emms playing with the kid (tossing balloons at each other and dancing) after the awarding ceremonies. I almost got a shirt from Pi Hongyan! She saw me asking for a shirt (i was around 20 feet away) She threw a shirt at my direction, but her throw was a bit too powerful, so it bounced off my face and landed 2 feet from where I was standing.
I wonder why Peter Gade or Kenneth Jonassen didn't come to represent Europe? Would've made for more interesting singles matches.
Probably because they're preparing for the World Championships. The MVP cup isn't an IBF-sanctioned tournament anyway. And for a total of $80,000 prize money, well, if I'm not mistaken, the Singapore Open made a budget of $130,000. I mean, if you're playing just for the prize money and not world rank, you'd proably go for whichever tournament gives a better prize, right? Oh well, it was the first MVP Cup. It could get better next year. Oh, seeing Taufik Hidayat and Lin Dan cheer together was priceless!
think of it as an all-star game east vs. west. it doesn't affect your overall ranking, but it will help you be more popular. heheheheh $50,000 divided by the number of players per team (say 10) for 1 game per player (on the average) would amount to $5000 per player. not too bad for a fun time - mall tours, autograph signing, lots of press conference and loads of print and TV exposure $3000 per player for the runner up team ain't so bad either. And i bet they even got their appearance fees. Call it a publicity stunt, but it works for us. hahaha. and you know what, it's all good! can't wait for the 2nd MVP Cup!!!
the cute kid is named Keony (or something like that) he's an adorable kid. very friendly, smart and witty. can't wait to see if he'll end up playing as well as his older siblings. BTW, i've seen him beat some older kids and newbies at Asuncion Badminton Club before.
