Singapore sports round-up (18-24 March): Svensson wins Porsche S'pore Classic, Income Eco Run on 26 May

SINGAPORE — Here is a round-up of sports events and developments in Singapore in the past week (18 to 24 March):

Svensson matches course record, wins Porsche S'pore Classic

Sweden's Jesper Svensson won his first DP World Tour title with a play-off victory over Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat at the Porsche Singapore Classic on Sunday (24 March).

The 28-year-old matched the course record with a closing 63 at Laguna National Golf Resort Club to get to 17-under but extra holes were required as Kiradech eagled the final hole to card a 64. Both men made a birdie on the first playoff hole and then exchanged a pair of pars, before the 34-year-old Thai went over the back and made a bogey, leaving Svensson with two putts for a par and victory.

Svensson thus adds to his victory at the B-NL Challenge Trophy on the European Challenge Tour in 2023, making his breakthrough at three second-place finishes on the DP World Tour last year.

England's Sam Bairstow carded a fourth consecutive 68 to finish at 16 under, one shot clear of countryman Andy Sullivan and two ahead of Frenchman Matthieu Pavon to take third spot.

Tickets on sale for KFF Singapore Badminton Open

The KFF Singapore Badminton Open is set to return to the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 28 May to 2 June. Tickets are now on sale, and fans can enjoy early-bird ticket prices from 26 March to 8 April.

New to this year’s tournament is the introduction of a special ticket category – The Champion Club. Limited to just 71 spots, ticket holders will enjoy premium privileges such as exclusive access to players’ training sessions, priority queue during meet-and-greets, exclusive merchandise and a commemorative trophy keychain. Tickets for the Champion Club are priced at $1,000, while regular season tickets to the tournament start from $90.

This year's edition will attract the top shuttlers as a BWF World Tour Super 750 event, with all of the top 15 singles players and top 10 doubles pairs in the BWF World rankings required to compete.

The Karim Family Foundation has renewed its commitment as the title sponsor for another year, while JK Technology has also renewed its partnership as the presenting sponsor.

Income Eco Run to return on 26 May with innovative concept

The Income Eco Run is calling Singaporeans to run their distance-of-choice again at this year’s edition at the Marina Barrage on 26 May, ahead of World Environment Day on 5 June, after the successful launch of the run concept last year.

The run will customise five run routes – 3km, 5km, 10km, 15km and 21.1 km - and allow participants to clock their preferred distance flexibly in support of a zero-waste lifestyle. In addition to building wheelchair-friendly ramps at targeted run routes, this year’s edition will have a new Kids Category that encourages children aged between four and 12 years old to run either 700m or 1km for the cause.

This year, the size of running bibs will be 65 per cent smaller than the industry standard to minimise material wastage. Running bibs for the Kids Category will be made from seed paper which can be planted at home to grow flowers, fruits, or vegetables.

The Income Eco Run will also continue to use only plastic-free recyclable cups at its hydration stations. Additionally, Income Insurance will offset the carbon footprint of the event tees and participants’ commute to bib collection and the run on event day.

The event tees are made from 100 per cent recycled materials and are available only as an opt-in purchase. The event also does not offer commemorative medals to runners for their participation but award e-certificates instead and participants verify their personal-best timings on the event website.

Registration for the IER is now open, with registration fees starting from S$45 for adults and S$24 for children.

Top triathletes Gentle, Brownlee confirm S'pore T100 participation

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon have confirmed a strong line-up for the Singapore T100 triathlon on 13 and 14 April.

Women’s defending champion Ashleigh Gentle has confirmed her return, making the Singapore T100 her first World Tour appearance this year after she gave the season opener in Miami a miss. Alongside her will be recent Miami T100 champion India Lee and American Chelsea Sodaro, who finished third at the inaugural PTO Asian Open last year.

The men’s pro race will see a new champion crowned in place of Kristian Blummenfelt, who is focusing on his upcoming Olympic title defence. Instead, London 2012 and Rio 2016 gold medallist Alistair Brownlee has confirmed his participation. He will be joined by Miami T100 men’s winner Magnus Ditlev and runner-up Sam Long, as well as 2023 PTO Asian Open podium finishers Pieter Heemeryck and Jason West.

Besides the professional races, the Singapore T100 will also feature a 100km triathlon (2km swim/80km cycle/18km run) for experienced amateurs and two duathlon races ­­– standard (5km run/32km cycle/5km run) and Long (10km run/64km cycle/10km run).

S'pore Junior Canoe Sprint C'ships held at MacRitchie Reservoir

The Singapore Junior Canoe Sprint Championships (SJCC) was held at MacRitchie Reservoir from 9 to 11 March. Organised by the Singapore Canoe Federation (SCF), the event showcased the abilities of young athletes in the Under-14, U-16 and Junior (U-18) divisions.

A total of 550 paddlers from 15 institutions competed in both individual and team kayak and canoe events, over distances of 500m and 1,000m.

Kayla Angelina Thesman of National Junior College emerged victorious in the junior women K1 1,000m, crossing the finish line at 4min50.55sec, while Titus Ching of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) clinched the junior men's K1 1,000m gold in 4:10.12. Hwa Chong Institution took home the overall championship trophy.

Have a sports event to tell our users? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com. In your email, do provide as many details as possible, including videos and photos.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.