Ya. from the sistic website it shows that no season ticket available.. Just curious how can the season ticket be sold out. =(
so sad... i should have purchased last night!!!! btw, i saw somebody sold the SP at S$50 at ebay... http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Li-Ning-Sing...4?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_216&hash=item2311903b18 not sure whether it is safe to buy from him...
Singapore Indoor Stadium I dropped by this morning till lunch time. With the construction works currently undertaken for the Sports Hub, the short cut to SIS via Nicholl Highway has been closed to the public and I have to enter via Mountbatten Road/Stadium Blvd. Here are some pictures of SIS and its surroundings. The nearby Kallang Theatre will not be demolished after all and will be refurbished to hold smaller theatrical works and other artistic events. The Stadium MRT is a refreshing addition to the scene but the city scape across the river at Tanjong Rhu, Beach Road and Suntec City remain picturesque.
Qualification Rounds Took some pictures of players in action. Players from Russia, Denmark, England, Malaysia, India, Taipeh, Canada, France, Nederlands and of course Singapore. But our Ashton and Derek fell prey to two superior Russian Players. Our girls had better luck.
China's stars let badminton down Superstar Lin Dan misses media session citing stomach ailment, team-mates display arrogance by Low Lin Fhoong 04:47 AM Jun 14, 2011 SINGAPORE - He is the brightest star in a Chinese stable that is littered with Olympic gold medallists, world champions and Asian champions. Men's badminton champion Lin Dan, nicknamed "Super Dan", is the only player to have won every major event in the sport - Olympic singles gold, Asian Games singles gold, the World Championship, All-England singles crown, World Cup and Asian Championship titles, and he has been a key figure in China's Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup-winning teams. He is the biggest draw in the sport, man or woman, but sadly, the 27-year-old was nowhere in sight yesterday when local and international media gathered at Swissotel the Stamford to meet the all-conquering shuttler. Indeed, Lin Dan and the rest of the formidable Chinese team here for the US$200,000 (S$247,600) Li-Ning Singapore Open 2011 were a huge letdown as ambassadors of their sport, while the organisation of various press conferences with the stars of the game, ahead of the first round of the main draw tomorrow, was abject. Lin Dan, well known for his controversial antics in the past, was a no-show after citing a stomach ache. China's world No 1 women's player Wang Shixian did show up to meet the press, but then rudely rolled her eyes over a question. In a stunning lack of respect for their sport, and a tournament billed as a Super Series event - the first one offering qualification points for next year's Olympic Games - China's Zhang Nan (one half of the world No 1 mixed doubles pair, partner Zhao Yun Lei was also missing), 2009 Singapore Open champion Bao Chunlai, men's doubles world champions Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun, were clearly not interested in their media duties, grumpy and responding with irritated replies. Over the last few months, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) have been widely criticised for wanting the women to play in skirts, but the behaviour of a number of players from the No 1 badminton nation in the world yesterday left many in the media pool exasperated, and wondering if the world governing body needed to sort the stars out first in an effort to boost the popularity of the game. Wang was shocked by Juliane Schenk (world No 10) in the opening game at last month's Sudirman Cup, and when asked about a possible rematch with the German in the last eight here, the 21-year-old clearly rolled her eyes, and said: "I will do my best against Schenk, but I will need to play my earlier matches first before meeting her. "As for (defending champion) Saina Nehwal, I'm not sure if I'll even meet her so there's no need to talk about it." When asked if she felt badminton players should do more for the sport, she insisted: "As an athlete, my priority is to do well. I'm not a movie star." While Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana and Denmark's Peter Gade and Thomas Laybourn were game and fielded questions with little fuss, there was confusion over the other players listed on the schedule by the organisers. Nehwal turned up when the media were being ushered out of the room for a team managers' meeting, with her coach Pullela Gopichand explaining they were held up by accreditation issues and a prolonged training session. Men's defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia also failed to show up, with no official explanation given. While Lin Dan skipped his scheduled press conference to rest in his room, five hours later, he was training at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The BWF apologised on behalf of the players, adding that they would seek explanations from the Indonesian and Indian camps. S Selvam, BWF Superseries marketing manager, added: "The BWF have rules regarding players attending press conferences prior to an event. "Lin Dan's team manager informed us he had a tummy upset so he was resting. It is not serious but they were taking precautionary measures and he will definitely play." Gade, Nehwal say players have a duty to promote badminton by Low Lin Fhoong Veteran shuttler Peter Gade and India's top female shuttler Saina Nehwal both believe it is the responsibility of players to help promote badminton. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, former men's world No 1, Gade, 34, who won the Singapore Open title in 2006, said: "Players have a responsibility of being accessible outside of the court, and I think they should do their best to promote it." He was responding to questions over the no-show of China's superstar Lin Dan, and Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro, the defending champion, who all missed their bouts with the media yesterday. The world No 5, one of the big draws at this week's Li-Ning Singapore Open, tried to defend Lin Dan, when he added: "I see him (Lin Dan) as one of the best in the sport. To be in the sport for many years, people demand only the best of you and it's tough to be where he is." Defending women's champion Nehwal, the world No 4, was herself late for her media event. She said: "Everyone wants the tournament to get more hype. It will only happen when players come in and speak, so it's not good that they don't come." The 21-year-old felt language could be a barrier. "The players should learn a little bit (of English) and people will get to know about the game and players better," she said. "They have to help promote the sport, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are very popular because they come out all the time and speak and play exhibition matches in tennis. "This should be happening in badminton, too, then you might get a lot of sponsors coming in because I feel there's a lot of gap between badminton and tennis and I feel promotion is not happening properly." The US$200,000 tournament kicks off today at the Singapore Indoor Stadium with the qualifiers, with the finals day on Sunday. According to the event organisers, more than 95 per cent of the 5,000 normal season tickets have been sold, with premium tickets going fast. LOW LIN FHOONG (Looks like most Asian stars, particularly those from China, just lack class, unlike their counterparts from the West, especially in tennis. And others don't behave and act professional enough. So how do we expect many of them to become truly independent professionals? They should learn PR from the West. Maybe there is really a gap in the different education systems. )
Must be something wrong with the media scheduling. Not many happy, wonder why. Am uploading the qualifying videos soon. Subscribe it.
Not sure what happened? . And where was LYB? As I have said in another thread, all these players expected LYB to answer their questions for them. .
Top shuttlers conduct badminton clinic By Lim Jing Jing | Posted: 14 June 2011 1810 hrs Boonsak Ponsana (L) and Lin Dan at the badminton clinic. SINGAPORE: 15 boys from Boys' Town got a chance of their lifetime on Tuesday morning to meet top badminton players. Olympic champion Lin Dan from China and Boonsak Ponsana from Thailand, in Singapore for the Li-Ning Singapore Open, are currently ranked world number 2 and 6 respectively. The players took time off to meet the boys from under-privileged homes. Organiser OSIM international said the boys were selected based on their interest in the game. And they got a few pointers from the players on how to improve their game. The boys come from Boys' Town, which takes in boys from single-parent or financially needy or troubled families. Lin Dan said: "I think there are no shortcuts to becoming a professional sportsman. As we say in China, you need to train hard because only when you have given more to the sport than others, you can be one of the best." Lin Dan also apologised for not attending Monday's media conference for the Singapore Badminton Open. The Chinese badminton team officials had said Lin Dan was a no-show because he was having an upset stomach. Lin said: "First of all, I've not been to Singapore for two to three years for competitions. Hence, I'm actually very happy to be able to compete here. "I wanted to attend yesterday's press conference with my team-mates. But perhaps it was because I had just reached Singapore and could not get used to it here. So I was absent from yesterday's press conference. "I am very sorry as it could have resulted in a longer wait for many members of the local media. I am very sorry as my flight landed late last night. Because of my personal reasons, I had to call off last night's training as well." When asked on how he had interacted with the boys, Boonsak said that he tried to make it a fun and relaxed session, to encourage the boys to love the game. A 17-year-old boy who called himself Crispy said that Boonsak had corrected some of his strokes during the session. "He's a very calm and cool guy," said Crispy. The Li-Ning Singapore Open tournament ends this Sunday. -CNA/ac
Singapore Super Series: Saina starts her campaign against Lu Lan Deccan Herald New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal will start her title defence in the Singapore Super Series badminton tournament against world number 24 Chinese Lu Lan in the women's singles Tuesday. Saina, seeded fourth, would like to put behind the disappointment of her quarterfinal loss in Thailand Open and overcome her inconsistent form and ankle injury. The Singapore Super Series was one of the three titles the World No.4 won last year. But this year she managed just Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold title and finished runner-up in the Malaysia Super Series. Saina has also suffered losses against lower ranked players in the last few months, but her past record against Lan will give her some confidence. Saina had defeated her in the opening round of the Thailand Ope. If Saina manages to win the first round, she should make the quarterfinals easily. But in the last eight stage, she can face top seed Chinese Shixian Wang for a place in the semi-finals.
Shuttler Lin Dan apologises for no-show Jun 14, 2011 By Lin Xinyi Lin Dan, who had cited a stomach upset for his no-show on Monday, was quick to apologise to local media for not meeting them earlier. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA A DAY after missing the press conference for the Li-Ning Singapore Open, China's world No. 2 shuttler Lin Dan did not disappoint again. The reigning Olympic champion and world No. 6 Boonsak Ponsana were on hand to coach 15 youths from Boys' Town during an Osim badminton clinic on Tuesday morning. Lin Dan, who had cited a stomach upset for his no-show on Monday, was quick to apologise to local media for not meeting them earlier. 'I'm very sorry for making the media wait,' said Lin Dan, the biggest star of the June 14 to 19 Super Series event. 'I arrived here late at night, and I wasn't feeling well. Even last night's training session was postponed because of my situation.' He added that he is feeling better, and is hopeful of playing his best badminton at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 'It is the Olympic qualifying period now. I'll do my best to get the ranking points as my opponents are not just Boonsak and (world No. 1) Lee Chong Wei but younger players from my country too,' he said. Lin Dan last competed in the Singapore Open in 2007. The second-seed begins his campaign against South Korean Shon Wan Ho on Wednesday.
Singapore Super Series: Saina starts her campaign against Lu Lan News One Posted on 14th June 2011 New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal will start her title defence in the Singapore Super Series badminton tournament against world number 24 Chinese Lu Lan in the women’s singles Tuesday. Saina, seeded fourth, would like to put behind the disappointment of her quarterfinal loss in Thailand Open and overcome her inconsistent form and ankle injury. The Singapore Super Series was one of the three titles the World No.4 won last year. But this year she managed just Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold title and finished runner-up in the Malaysia Super Series. Saina has also suffered losses against lower ranked players in the last few months, but her past record against Lan will give her some confidence. Saina had defeated her in the opening round of the Thailand Ope. If Saina manages to win the first round, she should make the quarterfinals easily. But in the last eight stage, she can face top seed Chinese Shixian Wang for a place in the semi-finals.
Saving grace or face? But it is good that the best player in the world did not show his arrogance and came out openly to apologise.
I have noticed LD has matured over the years. I think he genuinely means it when he apologizes. If you look at his more recent on court behaviour, he has been very respectful towards his opponents. I'm guess I'm kinda biased because a a big fan, I can give him the time of day.
I think Lin Dan hair is terrible, does not suit him. It is not cool and not doing any marketing for badminton, unlike Beckham with his sometimes uncool haircut but always making publicity. Anyway, I think Lin Dan did the right thing by apologising and I respect him for that.
