..well, are we gonna dance or are we gonna play??.. Okay, okay, maybe it's a bit early, but i just have this itch to discuss it... Draws are not up yet, but list of entries here: http://www.internationalbadminton.org/usopengp/USA_MQ_report_version_3_24_june_2008.xls -As mentioned by Hau-ge in the other tournament thread, the list of entries is not very enticing, as in previous yrs; perhaps because this is an Olympic yr?!. Nope, our Jun Jae Youn won't be coming back to defend her WS title, nor would Lee Tsuen Tseng to defend his MS title; nor would the always favorite & magnetic Nippon gals to defend their WD titles, along with their men's squad to defend their MD & XD titles... However, there are still some interesting players to look out for.. -Looks like Tony G. won't be participating. -I'll be looking fw to seeing NorCal's very own Leonard Holvy De Pauw competing in his inaugural U.S. Open tourney, in the MS event. He could be a dark horse to win it this yr, after being a spectator in last yr's edition. -Lots of well known and new local players, both from SoCal and NorCal, will be there. Maybe i'll see some familiar BCers from NorCal, back to SoCal, again... -Quite a few familiar names, from last yr's edition, will be there as well. -And of course, our loyal Canadian friends, from up north, will bring their talents and energy, once again. *Btw, looking for the sub-forum/thread that was created earlier by kwun, but is no longer there.. kwun, do you mind merging this thread with an existing one or include it in the same tournament sub-forum, if you still have it stored away temporarily??
Oops, the draws are up as well.. ...only the WS will have a Qualifying round.. http://www.internationalbadminton.org/usopengp/Draws_USA_Grand__Prix_2008__24_June_2008_1500hrs.xls
Tony wont be back to US until end of July. He will represent East Java for PON and either to team up with Bambamg Supriyanto to Trikus...he is in Surabaya now for training.........
^^Ah..^^ ..bummer..that's what i thought also...hmm, is that one of the reason you won't be back to L.A., soon??..
Poster and infos.. ..here is the poster of this yr's U.S. Open along with the infos (for those interested to go and watch): http://www.ocbadmintonclub.com/ 2008 Yonex/OCBC US Open Grand Prix Badminton Championships Schedule: Monday, July 7, 2008 - Possible Qualifying Round - Free Admission - 12 PM to 9 PM Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - First Round - $15 Adult / $10 Kids - 9 AM to 9 PM Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - Second Round - $15 Adult / $10 Kids - 2 PM to 9 PM Thursday, July 10, 2008 - Quarter-Finals - $15 Adult / $10 Kids - 4 PM to 9 PM Friday, July 11, 2008 - Semi-Finals - $25 Adult / $15 Kids - Starts 6 PM Saturday, July 12, 2008 - Finals - $25 Adult / $15 Kids - Starts 6 PM Tickets are on sale at the OCBC office - $60 Adult / $40 Kids "All-Week" Passes Available
ah, our chris is on full force for this tournament ya,?? why not u go and paticipate in this tournament??? haha....lol..
^^Just helping out..^^ ..in promoting this event.. ..In hope, it'll slowly move up to a 3* tourney and offer a $100k prize money in the near future.. Btw, should be interesting to see BC's very own newly-improved Djarum-trained smashie54 (aka Lauren) perform..
With US$100,000 prize money, it's still categorized in GP level. Hmm, looking forward US Open becomes GP Gold tourney or even Super Series someday...
^^That's correct..^^ ..there are 2 types/levels of Grand Prix tourneys in BWF. One is the reg. Grand Prix, which has a minimum prize money of $50,000. And the other being the Grand Prix Gold, which has a minimum prize money of $120,000...and the latter is, hopefully, where the future U.S. Opens are headed....I believe right now, the U.S. Open is still considered a 2* tourney..
Jun Jae Youn as defending champion misses US open this time but many Canadian player to participate here maybe you will cheer them, madbad...
Even Vietnam Challenger has much much better field.....more ranked players than US open....very sad..... It is fun to PAW as we are totally blind....hehe....BIG Points...Big points....
^^Jun Jae Youn..^^ ..will be upset if she finds out our madbad won't be going down to support his fellow Canadians..*shame, shame, ckckck* Btw, for PAWing purposes, yeah, it'll be like picking blindly for this U.S. Open (at least for you guys who haven't seen the players play)...but maybe our smashie54 could give some hints??..
I'm just... ..daydreaming here, but hmm, i wonder if it would be possible if the U.S. Open gets another major sponsor, say the UCB (United Commercial Bank), which recently sponsored the $20,000 Bay Area Championships??...That way, the U.S. Open can become a GP Gold tourney; OCBC can sponsor half ($60,000) and UCB can sponsor the other half($60,000)??..
Just went through the draw and yup, it's devoid of big names. Mind you there are a few recognizable ones (Debeka, Wojkliewicz, Evans, Koch) plus a few up and comers (Martin, Thomsen of DEN). Top MS and WS seeds are Canadians (!) and our dear smashie is seeded #7. Dangerous floater (unseeded) in the WD is Reid/Grether. Halim is playing MD with Rai Raju?? Sad that no Asian countries of note have sent players and there are lots of Americans making up the numbers. Even if only the MS and WS defending champs returned, it would have been worth watching. I guess in the case of JJY, it's full scale prep for the OG.