MALAYSIA OPEN 2013 – The heat is on in KL

It was a hot day in Kuala Lumpur but this refers not only to the warm tropical weather of Southeast Asia, but also of the exhilarating atmosphere of fans in the capital city of Malaysia today. While the athletes warmed up the field of play at the Bukit Jalil Putra Stadium, not too far away, at the Sepang F1 circuit, the ground was all ready to host the Golden Disk Awards, starring Korean idol singers who had arrived in Kuala Lumpur, possibly on the same flight as the badminton warriors Monday afternoon.

Following last minute withdrawals, mixed-nations men’s doubles pair of Robert Blair / Tan Bin Shen benefited a promotion into the main draw to fill up the empty spot where Chris Adcock / Andrew Ellis pulled out. Also, following Woon Khe Wei’s departure in the women’s doubles with Vivian Hoo, Woon and Tan Wee Kiong also exited the tournament before they could show up at the mixed doubles qualifying rounds today.

Badminton fans who are also followers of the Korean pop culture will have to make a decision, as the Golden Disk Awards held about 50 kilometres away from the venue will still be on tomorrow evening, when many top players are scheduled to show up in the first round of the Malaysia Open.