All the world’s best players are set to descend at the Axiata Arena, and Stadium Astro highlights four things to look out for at this Super 1000 event.
Kenneth Johanssen begins duty
The Malaysian national singles department will see a new chief maestro in charge at the Malaysia Open. Kenneth Johanssen will officially start duty as the national singles chief coach, with a heavy focus on the men’s department. With Ng Tze Yong still not able to feature as he recovers from a long-term injury, the Danish handler will pay almost exclusive attention to Leong Jun Hao.
Lee Zii Jia, who, has also hired a new coach in Yeoh Kay Bin, will unfortunately not feature after injuring his ankle at last month’s World Tour Finals (WTF).
Same ticket prices & a new seating category
This Super 1000 event has always drawn huge crowds, and this year will be no different. Fans will be encouraged to know that ticket prices remain the same as last year, and there are also more seating options thanks to a new ticket category.
Season tickets range from RM282 to RM2000 for the week-long affair.
Expect Malaysian shuttlers to perform well
The Malaysian contingent ended 2024 on a grand note, with victories at the China Open & Arctic Open (Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin), Korea Masters (Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik) as well as second place finishes at the Arctic Open (Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah), Kumamoto Masters (Leong Jun Hao), China Masters (Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin) and WTF (Goh-Izzuddin & Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei).
Having ended the year strongly, we can expect the Malaysian shuttlers to start their new year with revived ambitions in front of the home crowd.
Vivian Hoo bids farewell
One of the longest serving Malaysian shuttlers Vivian Hoo will hang up her racquet competitively after the Malaysia Open.
The 34-year-old women’s doubles shuttler will partner Lim Chiew Sien for the final time.
Vivian, who is Pang Ron’s older sister, has played competitively for 15-years and won two Commonwealth Games gold medals with Woon Khe Wei in 2014 and Chow Mei Kuan four years later.
She also won a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Championships with Woon.
