:)

Hot on the heels of Cheers' S$300,000 sponsorship, Singapore Badminton received another shot in the arm with Yonex-Sunrise agreeing to a 5-year arrangement to supply badminton equipment and apparel to SBA's youth, junior and national teams as well as to support local badminton activities to the tune of S$4.2 million. This is this the second biggest sports sponsorship deal in Singapore after Tiger Beer's S$15 million 10-year soccer arrangement with the Football Association of Singapaore in 2001.

The Cheers Badminton Age Group 2004 tournament concluded yesterday and had generated a great deal of interest and I would say it has been a great success. The timing was good as the tournament was conducted during the school holidays.

I append below Saturday's (26 June) Straits Times report on the Yonex-Sunrise deal:

BADMINTON
Badminton is $4.2m brighter
Yonex-Sunrise ties five-year deal with SBA in second largest sports sponsorship

By Chia Han Keong

SINGAPORE badminton joined the million-dollar club yesterday when it announced a five-year, $4.2-million partnership with Yonex-Sunrise.

It is the second biggest sports sponsorship deal in Singapore, after Tiger Beer agreed to pump in $15 million over 10 years with the Football Association of Singapore in 2001.

The five-year partnership is largely in kind, and will benefit shuttlers of all competitive levels. Yonex-Sunrise will supply equipment and apparel to Singapore Badminton Association's youth, junior and national teams, as well as support local activities.

After two fruitful years on foreign courts, the deal is a clear indication that success will only attract the big money.

With the Republic's shuttlers bagging one Commonwealth Games gold, one South-east Asia Games gold and one five-star Open victory in the last two years, Yonex-Sunrise managing director Dalip Kumar Seth has confidence in the deal's success.

He said: 'Definitely, there is something cooking in the badminton fraternity. The association and its players are passionate in pushing the sport to a higher level.'

Then, to thunderous applause, he added: 'If Malaysia boleh, Singapore pun boleh!'

Boleh means can in Malay. The phrase literally means 'can also'.

Previously, the company had sponsorship contracts with individual players.

It also inked a three-year, $2.1-million deal in 2001 as the main sponsor for the Singapore Open.

With the new partnership, SBA president Lim Swee Say believes that the association's resources will be better deployed in player development.

He said: 'In the past, we had to buy equipment from Yonex-Sunrise for our players. Now that they can get these equipment for free, we can channel our finances to organising more tournaments for our youngsters.'

Will the deal translate into more medals and silverware?

Mr Lim would not say for certain, but he is sure that the elite players need not worry about bursting their racket strings any more.

He cited one example: 'When Ronald Susilo was playing his semi-final against Wong Choon Hann at the 2002 Singapore Open, his favourite racket's strings burst.

'He did not have an exact replacement and so had to use another model. He might have won that match, but he may not be so lucky against other opponents.'

Susilo confirmed the incident, adding: 'That model cost almost $500, so I bought only one.

'When I switched the rackets, I could instantly feel the difference in the weight, how hard I can smash.

'It will affect how I play, and it may be crucial in tight matches.

'I hope with this deal, I can have a few of my favourite rackets, just in case the strings break again.'

Sorry guys, I didn't realise that kwun had posted this report earlier. My apologies for the double postings. :o

Np man. Just goes to show you're aware of the local badminton scene. Good job, though it's slightly later than Kwun's posting ;)

~Cheers

Np man. Just goes to show you're aware of the local badminton scene. Good job, though it's slightly later than Kwun's posting ;)

~Cheers

Thanks FEND.

I normally visit the BC.Com site during office hours and I kept the site open throughout the day! I work 5 days a week and therefore on Sat and Sun I seldom read the postings until Monday, unless I have nothing else to do during weekends. However most of my weekends are filled with activities, Sunday with badminton in my itinerary of course! :) :p

they get sponsorships deals?? nice..!!
how come we don't get anything?? :mad:

they get sponsorships deals?? nice..!!
how come we don't get anything?? :mad:

Sponsorship doesn't come easy. ;)
You have to work hard to attract sponsors. And the SBA has been working very hard to achieve its goals. It speaks well of their leadership, who has solid plans in place and the wherewithal to achieve their goals.

Because the SBA has proven to be serious and successful, sponsors are more likely to lend their suppport and be among the winners! :p

If your country wants to get something, the leaders must really work hard to gain support from everybody. :)

haha...was fooling around. Having sponsorships is a long and tough work on the papers and stuff. :D

for us, it might take a while before anything like that happens here. :(

haha...was fooling around. Having sponsorships is a long and tough work on the papers and stuff. :D

for us, it might take a while before anything like that happens here. :(

Well, actually for Brunei, it might be a lot easier since the Sultan is reputed to be a badminton lover. He nearly became the President of the IBF but 'declined' at the last minute in favour of the present President from Thailand.

It has been reported that the Sultan will dish out 'handsome' payments to world class players just to play with him or be his partner.

If only your country's Badminton Association can come up with a concrete plan to build a strong team to challenge the world! :D

:eek: :eek:
seriously, i never knew that. :o sighs~~ shows a lot abt me in my country huh? hahaha...maybe i should have my citizenship rechecked. :D

Loh, hearing you say that...makes me want to play badminton more..who knows what the future will bring. :) :)

thanks for the enlightenment.:)

:eek: :eek:
seriously, i never knew that. :o sighs~~ shows a lot abt me in my country huh? hahaha...maybe i should have my citizenship rechecked. :D

Loh, hearing you say that...makes me want to play badminton more..who knows what the future will bring. :) :)

thanks for the enlightenment.:)

Well, if you are serious enough, then the future for a badminton star in Brunei is naturally bright! :) Imagine if you can become a world-class player and win accolades for your country to the notice of the world, what will the Sultan think of you?

I think Brunei is not really known to the world, partly because of its small size, just like Singapore. When I last visited your country in the eighties, there were very few distractions. Just ideal for someone who wants to devote full-time into training to become a professional. But you must have a good coach, good sparring partners, ideal training facilities and conditions. And, hopefully you are still young and passionate enough to achieve your dreams. :D

Actually Eddie, (tir168) those in the Brunei Scheme, actually get free equipment and stuff. Racquets, clothes, shoes, shorts, socks... Too bad you and I din apply :P

haha...i didn't actually knew of the national scheme availabilities till i was late teens already. now i am 20, so i think for now i will just settle playing for fun and see maybe if i am good enough to play for the uni's tourney. :D