SINGAPORE – A strange sensation settled on Singapore buses as they stepped onto the exceptionally empty departure hall at Changi Airport on Monday (January 4) for the first time in more than 10 months.
As they awaited their trip to Bangkok for the Yonex Thailand Open on January 12-17 and the Toyota Thailand Open on January 19-24, their first competitive action after a successful Covid season last year, there was also apprehension at the timing. uncertain to come.
Even before the Thai capital hosted the best players in the sport, tournaments were plagued with withdrawals, with the Japanese team withdrawing after world No. 1 Kento Momota tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. The Chinese contingent, which includes world No. 2 Olympic champion Chen Long Chen Yufei, will also not travel to Bangkok due to China’s virus regulations.
Malaysian Badminton Association Technical Director Wong Choong Hann has tested positive for Covid-19 and is in isolation, but the Malaysian Cowboys will compete in both events.
National Shuttler Yeo Jia Min, No. 26 in the world, said: “I am very excited (to compete again). At the same time, there will be many things that can be different and there are many things to be careful of.
“Before the last few days, I didn’t have many worries about going to Bangkok, but after hearing that athletes are getting infected, I will be very careful when I go there.”
The 21-year-old is among Singapore’s five-man contingent made up of men’s singles player Loh Kean Yew, women’s duo Crystal Wong and Jin Yujia, and national singles coach Kelvin Ho.
Upon arrival in Bangkok, they must undergo a 14-day quarantine and will be allowed to train at specific time intervals once the test is negative for Covid-19.
During tournaments, they do not plan to leave their hotel, Novotel Bangkok Impact, except to travel to the tournament venue at Impact Arena, which is a five-minute drive away. Both competitions will be held behind closed doors.
Although the Singapore Badminton Association tried to simulate a competitive environment by holding an indoor tournament for cowboys last month, the players hope they will have to get rid of the rust.
Jin, 23, whose last competition was the Badminton Asia Team Championship last February, said: ‘I’m excited to compete again, but at the same time, because we haven’t competed in almost a year, so we lost (the feeling) of being in such a large room and with such a high level of competence «.
Crystal Wong, 21, added: “I’m looking forward to seeing our position against other top-tier opponents because we’ve been training a lot over these months, so hopefully we can see improvements in our game.”
The pair will face Thai Laksika Kanlaha and Atitaya Povanon at the Yonex Thailand Open, before facing Danes Alexandra Boje and Mette Poulsen at the next tournament.
Yeo will face world number 5 Ratchanok Intanon, the 2013 world champion that Singapore has not defeated in two matches in its debut next week.
His teammate Loh, the 38th world champion, will also have a difficult first match against the seventh world champion from Indonesia, Jonatan Christie. But the 23-year-old is enjoying the challenge, saying, “I’m a loser compared to him. I want to win because after preparing and not competing for so long, I would love to play more rounds.
The stakes are high for Loh and Yeo, too, who plan to compete in the July Olympics.
But his trip to Tokyo is fraught with uncertainty. The 38 best individual players in the Race to Tokyo men’s and women’s rankings will qualify and while Loh and Yeo are ranked 16th and 17th respectively, they are not sure which tournaments will take place in the final months of the qualifying window. , which closes on May 2.
Loh said, “We will play by ear and see the situation around the world. If we can, we will get more Olympic points for qualifying.
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