A host of world-class badminton stars have confirmed their entry for next month’s Li Ning Singapore Open, including men’s singles world No 6 Nguyen Tien Minh . . .

A host of world-class badminton stars have confirmed their entry for next month’s Li Ning Singapore Open, including men’s singles world No 6 Nguyen Tien Minh and women’s singles defending champion and world No 8 Zhou Mi and Top names of Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, Peter Gade Hoeg of Denmark, Saina Nehwai from India and Danish Tine Rasmussen also finalised their participation in the coming weeks for the June 15-20 Super Series event, which will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

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Nguyen Tien Minh.

Vietnamese Minh who is seeded No 3 here will be supported with nine teammates including Le Ha Anh, Bui Quang Tuan, Duong Phuong Nam and Bui Bang Duc.

It will be the first time Minh enters a Super Series where he can enjoy points from team event to strengthen his world position.

At last year’s tournament, Minh who was No 11 made up a big bang to all expert and audiences by beating world and competition No 1 Lee Chong Wei 24-22, 20-22, 21-19 at the last 16 round.

Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi, the 2003 and 2009 winner, said: “I have always done well at the Singapore Open. Although my physical condition has not been good in the last 2-3 months, I still have several weeks left to prepare for the Li Ning Singapore Open. If I’m at peak fitness, I have a good chance of winning the event again. I enjoy playing in the event, and am looking forward to retaining the title.”

The Hong Kong shuttler has also won accolades at the highest levels, capturing the 2003 All-England crown and taking bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Other top names include world No 6 Saina – the highest-ranked non-Chinese women’s shuttler in the world, as well as world No 10 men’s doubles pair of Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark of England.

Saina said: “The Li Ning Singapore Open is one of my favourite tournaments. The stadium is nice and the courts are fantastic. It’s beautiful from the inside. The crowds are very good, and even on the opening day there are a large number of spectators.”

Shuttlers flying the Singapore flag include Zhang Beiwen and Hendra Wijaya and Hendri Kurniawan Saputra, who will be competing in the main draw. 2002 men singles runner-up Ronald Susilo will also be competing alongside his brother-in-law Candra Wijaya in the men’s doubles.

“I am looking forward to playing again and hope Singaporeans will still come and support me. With Candra as my partner, I have every confidence of doing well in the tournament”, said Susilo.

The draw will be organised in early June. The Li Ning Singapore Open is a part of the Super Series events organised by the Badminton World Federation and will feature top shuttlers from around the world battling it out for prize money and ranking points.

The Super Series is one of the major efforts that the Badminton World Federation has initiated to increase interest in the sport of badminton and its popularity around the world. Comprising 12 events and a Super Series Finals spread across the world, the competition has attracted the best of the best in the sport to compete in top venues around the world. Each event features the top players in the world in the main draw, fighting it out for a minimum of US$200,000 in prize money.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News