The 2017 Crown Group Australian Open is scheduled to kick off on the 20th of June at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Sydney.
However, despite a whopping prize money of USD 750,000, the Superseries has already witnessed withdrawals from some big names, like Malaysia’s badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei and current world no 2. Viktor Axelsen.
Apart from Lee Chong Wei and Viktor Axelsen, India’s prominent Verma brothers; Sourabh and Sameer Verma, have also announced their withdrawal from the Australia Open.
2016 Korea Open champion Qiao Bin and Indonesia’s singles expert Ihsan Maulana Mustafa will also join list of shuttlers who will not be participating in the tournament.
Current All England champion Lee Chong Wei has decided to opt out of the tournament as he does not want to overstrain himself — he wants to make sure he is well rested and fit for the 2017 BWF World Championship in August.
His decision was confirmed and announced by Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)’s president, Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
“Yes, Chong Wei informed me that he wants to withdraw from the Australia Open as he wants to give himself enough rest and be fit for the championship in August.” the president told Harian Metro.
The 34-year-old suffered an early exit from the Indonesia Open; Lee Chong Wei was outclassed by India’s HS Prannoy in two straight sets, 10-21, 18-21. However, Chong Wei is not too worried about the defeat, as his ultimate goal this year is the BWF world championship.
The 2017 BWF World Championship will be happening in Glasgow, Scotland, from the 21st until 27th of August.
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