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2009 News and Information

Racket Rally Adds #6 Ranked Badminton Player Joachim Persson to Event - Replacing Injured Player Peter Gade

27 March 2009 

Star badminton player Peter Gade has reluctantly withdrawn from Racket Rally 2009 at the Richmond Olympic Oval April 3-5 due to an injured toe, organizers announced today. Added to the event is countryman and #6 world ranked international badminton player Joachim Persson who replaces Gade.

While disappointed to lose Gade, organizers are delighted to have added Persson to the already impressive Racket Rally roster. Persson, a fellow Danish badminton team member is just 25 years old and a rising star on the world badminton circuit.

“Persson brings great talent and name recognition to our tournament and will challenge his tough competition from Indonesia which includes Olympic Gold Medalist Taufik Hidayat (#7 in the world) and Andre Tedjono another rising star in the sport”, said Mills. “We are grateful that Joachim has stepped in to ensure that Racket Rally ticket buyers will see the highest level of badminton when they attend our event.”

In three career meetings, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia has beaten Persson twice with Hidayat losing to Persson in a 2008 Japan Open quarter-final upset. Persson and Andre Tedjono of Indonesia are 1-1 in international competition.

“I am happy to have been invited to participate in the Racket Rally event and look forward to the competition and to visiting the beautiful City of Richmond, British Columbia” said Persson who has agreed to travel from Denmark to Richmond just eight days before the tournament.

Gade sustained a minor injury earlier in the month which caused him to drop out of the Swiss Open but he had hoped to recover in time to make the trip to Richmond for Racket Rally April 3-5, 2009.

“I am not only professionally disappointed to miss out on an opportunity to showcase professional Badminton in the North American market, but personally disappointed.” Gade said. “While my recovery is going well, my doctor and the Danish Badminton Federation believe that a trip overseas and three matches in three days may jeopardize my recovery. I wish the event organizers every success and hope that I can take part in a future Racket Rally event” Gade went on to say.

Racket Rally, presented by Fairchild Media Group, is a round-robin tournament which takes place over 4 sessions and three days, April 3-5 at the Richmond Olympic Oval, allowing fans to see a table tennis match followed by a badminton match during each session. Featured badminton players include Joachim Persson of Denmark, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Andre Tedjono of Indonesia. Featured table tennis players include Chen Weixing of Austria, Robert Gardos of Austria and Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong.

Single session tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone at 604-280-4400 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca/racketrally. For more information about Racket Rally go to www.racketrally.net.