Press Release

Today it was announced that the 23rd Annual JVC Asian Badminton Championships will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 15 – 19.  This year’s JVC Asian Badminton Championships (JVC ABC) marks the 23rd Anniversary of the event.  Created in 1962 and held annually since 1991, the JVC ABC has been one of the top events in Asia and stands as a tradition in Asian sports.  As China, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea are among the nations to participate, his year’s event is certain to once again attract World Champions, Thomas & Uber Cup champions and Gold Medallists from the Asian Games. 

Over the past 21 events, the Championships have been held in 12 cities ranging from Lucknow, India to Shanghai, China.  The JVC ABC 2003 marks the third time that Jakarta has hosted the event (last held in Jakarta in 2000).  Some of the event’s past champions include the sport’s top players such as:  Park Joo Bong in Men’s Doubles, Rashid Sidek and Sun Jun in Men’s Singles, and the amazing 5-time champion, Ye Zhaoying in Ladies’ Singles.  In fact, Ye Zhaoying won the event three times in a row (from 1993 – 1995) and was awarded with the Tong Yun Kai Cup for her amazing achievement.

The JVC ABC will be held this year at the Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in the heart of Jakarta.  “It was our decision to bring the 23rd Anniversary event to Jakarta as Indonesia has been a major supporter of the sport both through hosting events and providing world-class players over the past three decades,” said Datuk Punch Gunalan, Secretary General of the Asian Badminton Confederation.  With the strong recent play from Indonesia’s men’s singles star, Taufik Hidajat (champion at the IBF 5 star Indonesiain August) as well as the new men’s doubles pairings of Chandra/Halim and Sigit/Trikus, the local team is ready to compete against Asia’s best! 

Last year in Bangkok, the JVC ABC’s champions included:  first-time champion from Indonesia, Sony Dwi Kuncoro (men’s singles), Zhao Mi (ladies’ singles), Yang Wei/Zhong Jiewen (ladies’ doubles) and Zhang Wei/Gao Ling (mixed doubles) of China as well as Kim Dong Moon/Ha Tae Kwon (men’s doubles) of Korea—aside from the first time winner, all the others were world #1 at the time.   Sulistiyanto, Vice President of the Asian Badminton Confederation, salutes the solidarity of the Asian Championships, “We welcome players from all across Asia to participate in the 23rd anniversary JVC ABC event this year.  Through this event, we can work together to further develop the sport in Asia.  Here in Indonesia we can show all participants and delegates how fanatic the public can become for the sport in your respective countries if it can be engrained in the hearts of the public as it has been here.”

Winners in each category at the event this year will receive a bonus from JVC of one of the top of the line JVC electronics products.  “It is important that we reward players for their accomplishments, and through this bonus, aside from the prize money that we help to sponsor, we hope to show our appreciation to the top players in Asia for their hard work and dedication”, remarked Nobuhiko Ishihara of JVC Asia of the reward.  Currently, the top players on the JVC Asian Badminton website rankings are:

Men’s Singles – Chen Hong, China
Men’s Doubles – Pramote Teerawiwatana/Tesana Panvisvas, Thailand
Mixed Doubles – Zhang Jun/Gao Ling, China
Ladies Singles – Zhang Ning, China
Ladies Doubles – Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting, China

Both media and fans alike can get the latest news on the JVC ABC event and the updated JVC Asian Rankings through the event website:  www.jvc-badminton.com.  The website will include all of the news leading up to the event with regard to players’ performances in other events (such as the Dutchand Danish etc.) as well as information about the JVC ABC’s history, contests, games and opportunities to chat with other badminton fans and ask questions to top Asian players.

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Issued by IMG on behalf of the JVC Asian Badminton Championships 2002. Should you require more information, please contact Mr. Michael Dale of the IMG Bangkok office at: 661 – 0322 or Miss Maya Hidajat of the IMG Asian Badminton office:  .