I believe the players from these 2 nations are doing their obligation. Doesn't sound like Lee Chong Wei is happy being there. “Chong Wei’s next tournament is the Australian Open (April 2-7). He has to play because of sponsorship obligation. He is not playing the Axiata Cup. His wife is expecting and may deliver at the end of April or early May and he may skip the India Open (April 23-28). It all depends. Being a father will give him another new responsibility. But I believe he knows how to handle it.” Source: http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2013/3/12/sports/12824941&sec=sports
So sad... Thailand withdrew Narissapat Lam's entry!! Also withdrew Sudket and Saralee, the favourites...
. M&Q >>> http://bwfbadminton.org/file.aspx?id=433445&dl=1 With Lee Chong Wei and Taufik attending, our Australian/Oceania organisers and spectators are happy. .
. But I have coaching sessions to conduct in Melbourne, therefore I need to stay back in Melbourne. I always give preference to my trainees first. I can catch up with Lee Chong Wei and Taufik Hidayat later. .
Yeah, anybody who can, tell us more about Xue Song. If I'm not wrong, he's still only 18 years old and yet CHN is introducing him to the regular (adult) international circuit which I thought it's a bit unusual. I happened to watch the replay of his game with Lin Dan in the CBSL in which he showed potential, played with verve and boldly attacking Lin Dan, sometimes giving as good as he gets, before going down fighting. The rest I read that he lost a close match to Kento Momota in the WJC final. Then in the Olympic Youth Festival held in Australia, I read that he won it by displaying explosive attacking badminton, literally smashing his way through his opponents one by one to the title. Not too sure about his defensive capabilities which is essential when his attacks peter out and his opponent goes on the counter-attack forcing him on the defensive. That one video of his game with Lin Dan may not be representative of his strengths and weaknesses.
I am more excited to see many junior players from china taking part...especially Ou dong ni and Suo Di..they deserve more international exposures... I also love to see Chen QingChen/huang DongPing...this pair catch my attention since the first time I saw them last year...So Young and powerful
TS link for draws, matches, blah-blah... http://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=9C84B008-25AF-42CB-8C41-E6A04D228CAE Time in Sydney: http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_AU-NSW.aspx?city=Sydney Chris is getting sloppy! Must be his "advanced" age...
2013 Australian Open (Sydney BCers to give us reports/info) . John, Catch up with me again on your next visit in Melbourne, and show me your photos. Better still, post some photos here (in this thread). BTW, I found an Illawarra Mercury newspaper report/result of the IBA Open Championships when you and Giona Sheare finished R/up to Weng and R.Robin in the Mixed Doubles event. I shall show you the newspaper clipping when I see you next. . Remember that I am in Melbourne. It's better to leave it to Sydney BCers to give us reports/info; They are closer to the event. .
Few things I found out today... Koo Kien Keat is indeed what people say he is; frantic, playful and just plain fun Shin Baek Choel is very good at English - can understand what is said instantly and has clear enough pronunciation Sayaka Takahashi is extremely nice, has good manners and always in a positive mood!
. For earlier events, I am sure that you can buy tickets at the venue. You can phone 03 9397 4722 to confirm it before you make your trip there. But for later events (Finals, Semi-Finals, etc,...), tickets could be sold out already. .
. Probably more than 50% of spectators attending this tournament are Malaysians supporters. Koo Kien Keat should get strong support. I wonder if Shin Baek Choel and Sayaka Takahashi will get enough support in this tournament. Previous years, when the Australian Open tournaments were held in Melbourne, I usually give my support to the Korean and the Japanese teams. .
Tomorrow qualifying round will be started on 08.00am local time and MS R/64 on evening 06.00pm => http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=9C84B008-25AF-42CB-8C41-E6A04D228CAE
With so many top players coming from Malaysia, we can expect a very strong crowd for them Unfortunately, I don't see big support for Japan or even Korea since no big names are competing. Shin Baek Choel may be recognizable by some audiences, but a majority of them would only know Lee Chong Wei... China undoubtedly will have supporters regardless, since they have alot of families, relatives and groups resided here in Australia and a majority of the badminton players here are Chinese But there are hardly any Korean or Japanese players in Sydney that play the sport, so it's difficult
The MS title is in LCW's bag already; he'll be walking all over his opponents. I'm curious to see how well or badly some of his unfortunate opponents will fare against him, eg Qiao Bin, Xue Song or Gao Huan.
