SINGAPORE, Feb 8 — Defending champions Ratchanok Intanon and Sony Dwi Kuncoro will return to this year’s OUE Singapore Open as part of a star-studded line-up at the US$350,000 (RM1.5 million) badminton tournament.

Ratchanok, the Thai world No. 5, became the youngest-ever world champion when she won the crown at the age of 18 in 2013. The 22-year-old will be joined by current number two Carolina Marin of Spain, who won the women’s singles Olympics gold last year.

Marin, 23, is also the reigning world champion and will be looking to do better than her quarter-final exit last year.

Part of the MetLife BWF (Badminton World Federation) World Superseries, the Singapore Open is organised by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) and is the most prestigious badminton tournament here. It will be held from April 11-16 this year.

Ratchanok, who last year became the first woman to win three consecutive Superseries tournaments — the second-highest level of BWF-sanctioned open tournaments — is looking forward to playing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium again.

"I am definitely going all out to defend my title,” she said. "The fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were amazing last year, and I loved the atmosphere. I hope they can come to support me this April.”

Meanwhile, Kuncoro is seeking a third Singapore Open triumph, having won his first in 2010. The 32-year-old, currently ranked 23rd in the world, had upset China’s two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the semi-finals en-route to winning in Singapore last year.

It is not known whether the likes of Lin, his compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Chen Long, and Malaysian superstar and current world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, will participate as of yet.

The SBA is also yet to confirm the list of national players who will be involved. There was no Singaporean male in the singles main draw last year, while the women were represented by Liang Xiaoyu and Grace Chua. However, organisers are hopeful of more big names in the days to come and believe the fans will flock to see the stars.

"With both Sony and Ratchanok back to defend their titles and the presence of Olympic champion Carolina, we are confident of a good spectator turnout for the event,” said Eugene Ang, organising chairman of the OUE Singapore Open 2017.

"Players have until February 28 to register their participation, and we are expecting more top players to submit their entries.”

There will be 32 entries in the main draw for each category — men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. Four of those slots will be available to qualifiers, with a maximum of 16 qualifiers per category.

Each singles champion will receive US$26,250 in prize money, while the respective doubles champions will get US$27,650. — TODAY