The Indonesian Badminton Super League has yet to start but a West Java club has already staked its claim to the men’s title by signing two of the top two shuttlers in the world.
SGS PLN confirmed on Wednesday that it had secured the services of Lee Chong Wei for the league, which begins play in Surabaya on Sunday.
The Malaysian ace will be playing alongside Taufik Hidayat in a partnership featuring two of the most accomplished shuttlers in the world.
“Lee turned down the first offer to join us when I talked to him during the Malaysian Open last month,” said Taufik, who is also the vice president of SGS.
“Last week I approached him again and he said yes. We’ve been good friends for a long time and we have the same sponsors, so it wasn’t that hard to persuade him to join our club,” added Taufik, who did not reveal the details of Lee’s contract.
The arrival of Lee, who won seven of the 13 Super Series events last year, is expected to provide a boost to the Super League, which is being held for the first time since 2007, having struggled to attract sponsors.
Set to take place at DBL Arena in the East Java capital from Feb. 20-26, the league is offering Rp 1.3 billion ($145,000) in prize money.
“Our team will be boosted by our presence. Not only that, Lee’s presence will of course lift the image of the league and lure more fans,” Taufik said.
Lee, 28, has already won the Super Series Finals in Taiwan and the Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuala Lumpur this year.
He was seeking to complete a hat-trick of titles last month but lost to Lin Dan of China in the Premier Series final in Seoul.
Lee and Taufik are also playing for the same team in the Chinese Super League, which began last week and will run until April.
“Fortunately, we don’t have conflicting schedules — that’s one of the reasons why Lee finally decided to join us,” Taufik said.
SGS’s other imports are men’s doubles shuttlers Hendri Kurniawan Saputra and Chayut Triyachart of Singapore.
It also has former national team shuttlers Tommy Sugiarto, Flandy Limpele and Hendra Aprida Gunawan.
East Java club Jaya Raya Suryana Surabaya said it was ready to defend its men’s title against the star-studded SGS squad.
“It will be a tough competition and all eyes will be on SGS now,” said Suryana manager Wijanarko Adimulya, whose club won the inaugural competition in 2007. “Our target remains the same — to defend the men’s championship.”
Sony Dwi Kuncoro will lead the East Java club, which has signed two men’s singles shuttlers from Hong Kong, world No. 15 Hu Yun and Chan Yan Kit.
Meanwhile, the 2011 Milo School Competition kicked off in Jakarta on Wednesday, as the under-16 tournament celebrates its 10th anniversary.
“[The Indonesian Badminton Association] hopes more companies will come forward to support junior development competitions such as this because it will sustain the continuous birth of badminton stars in the country,” association secretary-general Yacob Rusdianto said. Badminton
SGS PLN confirmed on Wednesday that it had secured the services of Lee Chong Wei for the league, which begins play in Surabaya on Sunday.
The Malaysian ace will be playing alongside Taufik Hidayat in a partnership featuring two of the most accomplished shuttlers in the world.
“Lee turned down the first offer to join us when I talked to him during the Malaysian Open last month,” said Taufik, who is also the vice president of SGS.
“Last week I approached him again and he said yes. We’ve been good friends for a long time and we have the same sponsors, so it wasn’t that hard to persuade him to join our club,” added Taufik, who did not reveal the details of Lee’s contract.
The arrival of Lee, who won seven of the 13 Super Series events last year, is expected to provide a boost to the Super League, which is being held for the first time since 2007, having struggled to attract sponsors.
Set to take place at DBL Arena in the East Java capital from Feb. 20-26, the league is offering Rp 1.3 billion ($145,000) in prize money.
“Our team will be boosted by our presence. Not only that, Lee’s presence will of course lift the image of the league and lure more fans,” Taufik said.
Lee, 28, has already won the Super Series Finals in Taiwan and the Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuala Lumpur this year.
He was seeking to complete a hat-trick of titles last month but lost to Lin Dan of China in the Premier Series final in Seoul.
Lee and Taufik are also playing for the same team in the Chinese Super League, which began last week and will run until April.
“Fortunately, we don’t have conflicting schedules — that’s one of the reasons why Lee finally decided to join us,” Taufik said.
SGS’s other imports are men’s doubles shuttlers Hendri Kurniawan Saputra and Chayut Triyachart of Singapore.
It also has former national team shuttlers Tommy Sugiarto, Flandy Limpele and Hendra Aprida Gunawan.
East Java club Jaya Raya Suryana Surabaya said it was ready to defend its men’s title against the star-studded SGS squad.
“It will be a tough competition and all eyes will be on SGS now,” said Suryana manager Wijanarko Adimulya, whose club won the inaugural competition in 2007. “Our target remains the same — to defend the men’s championship.”
Sony Dwi Kuncoro will lead the East Java club, which has signed two men’s singles shuttlers from Hong Kong, world No. 15 Hu Yun and Chan Yan Kit.
Meanwhile, the 2011 Milo School Competition kicked off in Jakarta on Wednesday, as the under-16 tournament celebrates its 10th anniversary.
“[The Indonesian Badminton Association] hopes more companies will come forward to support junior development competitions such as this because it will sustain the continuous birth of badminton stars in the country,” association secretary-general Yacob Rusdianto said. Badminton
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