Badminton Newsflash

Lin Dan "King of Blisters"?

Friday, 11 January 2008

Lin Dan was made aware of having been nicknamed "King of Blisters" by his girlfriend Xie Xingfang after the badminton World Champion had opted out from the Malaysia Open citing this unusual injury. Lin was apparently complaining about his new shoes, which had given him a lot of blisters on the soles of his feet. He was, however, able to play and win an exhibition match in Guangdong Province, 21-14, 21-17 against his compatriot Bao Chunlai. Later Xie Xingfang beat Zhang Ning 10-21, 21-19, 21-16. Yang and Zhang got the best of new pairing Gao and Zhao in straight games while the men's doubles final was under way between Cai/Fu and Guo/Sun.

OBITUARY - Former Indonesia Legend dies at 80

Friday, 11 January 2008

Former Indonesian Legend Nyoo Kim Bie, has died at the age of 80 at the private St. Vincentius hospital in Surabaya - East Java. Nyoo had been a key to win the Thomas Cup championships twice, in Singapore in 1958 and in Malaysia in 1961 for his country. He also won the Malaysia Open in 1959 and 1963 and the Indonesia Open in 1963 and remains one of Indonesia's greatest players.

PRIZE MONEY - Equal

Thursday, 10 January 2008

From 2008 onwards, male and female shuttlers will be getting the same amount of money, as decided by BWF, the International Badminton Federation. This has resulted in a change of repartition in the prize money of all events, including a slight drop for the men's single and men's double winners.

OLYMPICS - Indonesians Promised $100,000 for Gold

Tuesday, 08 January 2008

As in 2004, Indonesians who win a gold medal in Beijing in August will be granted 1 million Rp (over US$100,000) by the National Sports Council, said Indonesia's NSC as reported by the Jakarta Post. This sum is the same won by Taufik Hidayat in 2004 and by Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan in 2000.

The Indonesian governement, however, is seeking sponsors to provide this cash bonus - as happened with the previous editions - to avoid having to dig into its own funds. The reward for silver will be 500 million Rp (US$50,000 ) and 250 million Rp (US$25,000 ) will go to any bronze-medallists.

OLYMPIC FLAME - Gong Zhichao gets the honour

Tuesday, 08 January 2008

Gong Zhichao, Olympic Gold Medallist in Sydney 2000, had the honour of carrying the Olympic flame during a celebration held on January 6th, in Changsha, Hunan Province, where 2008 people had gathered to participate in a "rope fight". The flame had started its journey in Beijing and is now touring China.

France's Pi Hongyan should be one of the torch bearers when the torch comes to France.