Report from Aviva Open Singapore Website, 29 May: Denmark’s Peter Gade is the No 1 seed in the US$170,000 Aviva Open Singapore 2006 and it has given him the opportunity to win a tournament he has never won before. And China’s Chen Hong, a two-time winner is also looking at the possibility of a third Aviva Open Singapore title following the draw made at the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) on Monday (29 May), 3pm. Like Gade, Chen Hong who is seeded in the No 3-4 bracket but in the lower half of the draw, has always considered the Indoor stadium, venue of the five-star meet, a favourite hunting ground and naturally the two of them are looking forward to the meet starting on June 5-11. The draw conducted by officials from the SBA also saw Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark, the Aviva Open Singapore winner in 2004, as the No 2 seed and an all Dane final in the men’s singles looks a likely scenario. But again, there is another Chinese in the way of the two Danes- China’s Bao Chun Lai, the world ranked No 5 and the hero in China’s Thomas Cup triumph in Tokyo recently. Chun Lai is in the upper half of the draw with Gade. Chun Lai, was in terrific form, as his performance in Tokyo, where he demolished Jonassen in the straight games in the final, showed. This means the 30-year old Gade, the World's ranked No 3, is in for a tough time, although he does appear to have an easy passage until the last 16 where he is expected to meet China's Chen Yu, the No 9-16 seed. And if all goes according to plan, Gade will face up to Chun Lai, in the semis. But then again Chun Lai may have to face up to the Aviva Open Singapore 2006 defending champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia who is seeded in the No 5-8 bracket in the last eight. Jonassen, the No 2 seed also appear to have a smooth passage, at least until the last eight where a meeting with Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro, in a likely encounter before the last four in which, the two-time winner of the Singapore Open, China's Chen Hong, the No3-4 seed lies in wait. Singapore’s Ronald Susilo who is on the comeback trail after an Achilles’ heel injury, also appears to have a tough first round match where he is down to play Malaysia’s Kuan Beng Hong, the No 5-8 seed. Li Li, Singapore’s hope in the Women’s Singles has drawn Malaysia’s Norshaliza Baharum in the opening round and should sail past her opponent for a 2nd round clash against Taipei’s Cheng Shao Chieh or China’s Lu Lan. And if Ronald and Li Li manage to emerge to progress beyond the quarter=finals, they will stand to win each $2,000 for the semis, $4,000 for the finals and $10,000 as champions from title sponsor Aviva. The Danes are also the No 1 seed in the men's doubles with their World ranked No 1 Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen firmly established as the red hot favourites. Malaysia's Chong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah, the recent Asian champion are the No 2 seed and in the absence of the defending champion pair of Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya with the retirement of the latter, the field is left wide open. Malaysia's No 1 pair of Koo Kim Keat and Chan Chong Ming, the No 3-4 seed together with Indonesia'a Luluk Hadiyanyto and Alven Yulianto, could spoil the party for the big guns as well. The challenge for the Women’s Singles title at the Aviva Open Singapore 2006 will be led by Netherland’s Mia Audina with France's Chinese import Pi Hongyan as the No 2 seed. The Aviva Open Singapore 2006 women's singles race looks wide open. In the women's doubles, China will start with world ranked No 2 Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen. They are expected to play the No 2 seed Gail Emms and Donna Kellogg of England. Malaysia's Commonwealth Games gold medallist Wong Pei Tty and Chin Ee Hui are the No 3-4 seed together with Taipei's Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, the recent Asian Badminton Confederation winner in Johor Baru. Watch the drama unfold on the courts at the Aviva Open Singapore 2006 this June 5 –11, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Qualifying round matches are admission free while preliminary round and quarterfinal matches are priced at S$8 for adult and S$4 for senior citizens and children. The semi-finals and final tickets are priced at S$10 for adults; S$8 for students and senior citizens and S$2 for children (under 12). Tickets are available from SISTIC.
Top Eight Seeds Somehow the full draw hasn't been released for this 5* US$170,000 (S$270,000) event by IBF yet, but as reported in yesterday's Straits Times, the top seeds are: Men's Singles 1. Peter Gade (Den) 2. Kenneth Jonassen (Den) 3. Bao Chunlai (Chn) 4. Chen Hong (Chn) 5. Hafiz Hashim (Mas) 6. Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 7. Kuan Beng Hong (Mas) 8. Dicky Palyama (reported as Ina, but I think it should be Netherlands) Women's Singles 1. Mia Audina (Ned) 2. Pi Hongyan (Fra) 3. Yao Jie (Ned) 4. Kaori Mori (Jap) 5. Tracey Hallam (Eng) 6. Cheng Shao-chieh (Twn) 7. Petya Nedeltcheva (Bul) 8. Zhu Lin (Chn) None of the Singapore players are seeded. Notable absentees are: Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Zhang Ning and Xie Xingfang. But we still have strong competition in all events.
IBF has just updated their website! The Singapore Open draws are out!! Check them out: http://www.internationalbadminton.org/draws.asp
May-June Calendar too hectic Despite what the IBF has assured that there will be no lack of world-class competition during this May-June period for IBF sanctioned events, I feel we are not getting the best compared with last year. Of course the Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments took away most of the shine. And the World Championships in Madrid this September and the Asian Games in Doha in December will also affect participation from the top players. Starting with the 4* Philippines Open, only Hafiz, Boonsak and Xu Huaiwen represented the top echelon shuttlers. Yes it did give the young talents such as Saina Nehwal of India and local Filipino players a chance to prove themselves, but the glamour is lost. It is a shame that the PO is not better supported as badmionton there is gaining great popularity. The now ongoing 6* Indonesian Open also lacks the prestige it deserves. Yes the earthquake and security issues did some damage but if such a highly prized 6-star event is not attracting the world no. 1 players, then it is not a good sign. Yes at least Lee Chong Wei, Bao Chunlai and Taufik are on show. Now, the same goes with the 5* Singapore Open. No Lin Dan, no Chong Wei, no Zhang Ning, no XXF, who are requlars before. This is really sad for badminton fans in Singapore! :crying: :crying: But it seems the Malaysian Open that follows the SO will be able to attract better participation. At least Lin Dan will be there! I will not go beyond the Chinese Taipeh Open. Wonder how many top mainland China players will be there?
Blame it on the calendar. Way too many tourneys on 1 stretch. Anyway just enjoy the game. I'm sure no Big Guns will not hamper the spirit of badminton.
You know why? Because ants, Punch and IBF are there. Malaysia is now a powerhouse in every sense of the word!
Maybe because Singapore traditionally and perenially sucks big time in badminton since god knows how long ago and thus do not have a fine tradition to attract respect?
I, too, have to disagree. Last year, you can find the world's top ten ranking players in almost every event. Of course the Olympic Games Council meeting was held here at about the same time to decide on the next host for the Olympic Games and this must have helped. I think the rather tight interenational calendar for this year is the main culprit and now that the WC is to be held every year instead of alternate years. Too many big events this year - Commonwealth Games, TC, UC, WC and Asian Games.
My guess is that countries like Korea and China are using the Singapore Open as a platform to improve the rankings of their more "junior" players. Afterall, it is a 5 star tournament which can provide a good harvest of points. But also, at the same time, this also gives the more "senior" team or simply the players that have consistantly played some intense badminton since the start of the year, some off time during this leg of IBF tournaments. I would say that the "poorer" turnout this year is probably the result of a combination of bad luck and an overly tight schedule rather than some intrinsic systemic problem. So hopefully, we'll see an improvement next year.
I agree. The fact that we have 5 tournaments on a row starting from last week's Philippine Open means that its virtually impossible to send the first team players to all of these tourneys. The team managers have decided to prioritize certain tournaments. For Team Indonesia, they have decided to send the first team players to Singapore Open and probably Chinese Taipei Open. The second team will be sent to the Malaysia Open (and the recently concluded Philippine Open). For Team China, some of the first team players (and youngsters) are included in the Indonesia and Singapore Open. However, the remaining first teams players like Lin Dan, Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun, and Zhang Jun/Gao Ling will be sent to the Malaysia and Chinese Taipei Open. Similarly, for Team Malaysia, I believe the bulk of the first team players will concentrate on the Singapore and Malaysia Opens, even though LCW, the women's doubles and the young men's doubles pairs such as Mohd Tazari/Lin and Abdul Latif/Gan are also sent to compete in the Philippine and Indonesia Opens.
It still doesn't explain why the top players didn't player in a 5-star Singapore Open and chose a 4-star one instead?
