SINGAPORE: The upcoming KFF Singapore Badminton Open 2024 will play host to the world’s top players from May 28 to Jun 2 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and it could potentially see one of the final clashes between the women’s singles defending champion An Se Young (South Korea) and current world number three Tai Tzu Ying from Chinese Taipei.
In April last year, the Chinese Taipei top shuttler announced that she plans to retire after the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 29-year-old won the silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia.
Ahead of her expected retirement after this year’s Paris Olympics, Tai expressed her anticipation, stating, “This would probably be my last Singapore Badminton Open, and I’m looking forward to performing my best for the fans here.”
Should An and Tai meet in this year’s Singapore Badminton Open, it will be a rematch of last year’s semi-finals, where the South Korean delivered a commanding performance to claim a 21-16, 21-14 victory in a match that lasted about 41 minutes.
Both players have had a fine start to 2024, with Tai securing victory at the India Open in January. She defeated Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min 21-13, 21-18 in the semi-finals before claiming a 21-16, 21-12 victory over world number two Chen Yu Fei (China) in the final.
Meanwhile An had recorded wins over Tai this year enroute to her victory to clinch the championship at the Malaysia Open and French Open earlier this year.
In the two encounters, both players played a thrilling three-set encounter, with An defeating Tai 10-21, 21-10, 21-18 and 21-12, 17-21, 22-20 in Malaysia and France, respectively.
Those victories bring An’s winning record to 12-3 against the Chinese Taipei player.
With countries such as South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand submitting a strong lineup of players for the Singapore Badminton Open, fans can also expect a display of top-level badminton across all categories featuring some of the most in-form players.
South Korea’s women’s doubles pair Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee, who recently captured the All England Open Badminton Championships title, will be hoping to go one better at this year’s tournament after losing to China’s Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in last year’s finals.
Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, currently ranked sixth in the world, will be eyeing to capture their third mixed doubles title of 2024 after securing victories at the India Open and Thailand Masters earlier this year.
South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, the reigning men’s doubles world tour finals champions, will also be ones to watch after their triumph at the India Open in January.
Other notable players that will be competing include Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn (world number eight), and 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s doubles champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin.
Early bird season tickets for the world-class tournament are on sale now until 8 April 2024, starting from $90.
Fans can also opt for The Champion Club, a new ticket category offering exclusive privileges designed to enhance their KFF Singapore Badminton Open experience, priced at $1,000.
Main photo credit: Singapore Badminton Credit