Singapore Badminton Open – Anthony Ginting has an extra spring in his step as he returns to the Singapore Badminton Open this week, a happy hunting ground for the Indonesian as he aims for a third consecutive title at the May 28-June 2 tournament.
Singapore Badminton Open champion Anthony Ginting aims for hat-trick 2024
Ahead of the US$850,000 (S$1.15 million) event at the Singapore Badminton Open Indoor Stadium, the 27-year-old told a press conference: “Every time I come here, there’s a sense of joy. I love the tournament itself but outside the tournament I love to hang out and relax.
“Maybe cause of this atmosphere, I don’t pressure too much about what will happen in the tournament and enjoyment being here.”
The world number 7 knows that it will not be easy to retain his title, noting that “it is now a new week, a new tournament, a new competition”. She faced a tough challenge in the first round against Malaysia’s Li Ji Jia, who won the Thailand Open and finished second at the Malaysia Masters in May.
If Ginting advances, a potential match against world number one Viktor Axelsen awaits in the quarterfinals. It’s rare to go to The Den after suffering a setback en route from the Malaysia Masters to Singapore.
After winning the event in Kuala Lumpur, Axelsen missed his flight and had to take a 5-hour van ride here.
“I’ve been struggling a bit with injuries for the past few months, so I’ve had a really bad start to the year,” said the Olympic champion, who hosted a meet-and-greet session with fans in conjunction with Danish milk powder. Supplier Let’s Echo May 27 at Shangri-La.
“But last week in Malaysia was a verily good week for me… Of course, the Olympics are the most important thing, so hopefully I can verily peak during the Olympics in Paris, but it was a good step. In the right direction.”
With the Paris Games less than two months away, every tournament will be crucial for Ginting and her rivals.
By ending Indonesia’s 17-year wait for a men’s singles medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Ginting hopes to achieve another milestone and become the third player from his country to win the men’s event.
The first was Allan Budikusuma, who won the title in 1992 when badminton was introduced as an official medal sport, before Tawfiq Hidayat repeated the feat in 2004.
Ginting said: “The Olympics are the main goal, they happen every four years. You might get a ticket to the Olympics now but not next time.
“Everyone is focusing on the same thing and I’m grateful to have the support of my association.”
Singapore Badminton Open champion
Singapore’s world number 12 Loh Kin Yew will rely on home support this week as he aims to become the first local men’s singles player to win the tournament since Wee Chun Seng in 1962.
The 26-year-old will face China’s world number 19 Lu Guangzhou in the first round on May 28. Loh said: “Playing in front of the home crowd in Singapore means a lot. We always get a lot of support here so I’m looking forward to it.”
In the women’s singles, 18th-ranked Yeo Jia Min of Singapore Badminton Open is coming back from an Achilles injury and will take on world No. 8 He Bingjiao of China.
Yeo said: “The last week has been a roller-coaster for me – I’ve taken it day by day and done my best with everything I can to make sure I can get back close to 100 per cent.
“Thankfully I’ve been able to reclamation comparatively fast so I’m focused on maintaining that and I’ll try to do well.”
In mixed doubles, world No. 17 Terry Hee and Jessica Tan of Singapore will face world champions Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung of South Korea.
World No. 4 Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei will not feature at the Singapore Badminton Open after withdrawing from the women’s singles on May 27 due to injury, joining world champion Kunlavut Vitidsorn on the list of notable absentees.