Jakarta: The Rio Olympic mixed doubles champions, Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia will lead the Indonesian team at the World Tour Super 500 tournament that will held in Singapore from July 17 to July 22.
Indonesia has sent a total of 37 players to the tournament last year, while Tontowi Ahmad, 30, and Liliyana Natsir, 32, will be bidding for their fourth Singapore title this year, following their victories in 2011, 2013, and 2014.
Meanwhile in the women’s singles competition, the 2016 Singapore Open champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will try to reclaim the title won by Taiwan’s World No. 1 player Tai Tzu Ying in 2017.
“Coming to a tournament as an ex-champion is always very challenging, this time, I am going to do my best to win back the title,” said the 23-year-old Ratchanok, who became the first Thai player to reach the world number 1 ranking in 2016.
“Fans in Singapore are very supportive of me, and I hope I can get the same support from them this time,” added Ratchanok.
Unfortunately, according to the organizer, top men’s singles players such as World No. 7 Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) and World No. 10 Lin Dan will be skipping the Singapore Open.
The 2018 Singapore Open offers total prize money of USD 355,000 and will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
