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Lee / Obanana

FIRST WD TITLE FOR US 2013 Pan Am Championships

Lee / Obana Road to Rio:

US Junior Players at the 2013 Pan Am Champion

2013 World Junior Championships January 2014

84 Badminton Monthly January 2014

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JANUARY 2014 Issue 2

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January 2014

CONTENTS

Next Issue Highlights and Submission 3 Letter From the Editor 4 Announcement from the Publisher 5 Love All Play

· 10-year-old Don Averia’s Triumph in Singapore · YONEX USA International 2013 · Adidas North Carolina Open · NCBC Open in Sacramento, CA · 39th Annual Ray Scott Memorial · EBA Open

22 Intl. Game Results · Denmark Open · French Open · China Open · Hong Kong Open

Player Interview

William Cheung: 2013 Kenneth Davidson Sportsmanship Award Recipient

36 Christianna’s Athletic Edge

41 Junior Player Spotlight

· Silver for USA · Lee/Obanana Win First WD Title for US

48 Workout of the Month

Pan American Championships

World Junior Championships

· Taking on the World’s Best · Learning from World-Class Experience - Players Comments

Doubles Skills: Serve Returns by Jing Yu Hong

Andrew Yuan (9) “I Will be #1 in the World”

Get Balanced

53 My Badminton Life

30 Skill Feature

Hardworking Quads

54 Jump Smash

Chapter 2: Let’s Play Badminton Together! Christmas Special

Pinky Sheung Wei Li Sophomore at De Anza College, CA

76 Event Schedule/Directory 79 Badminton 2 Cents

What badminton-related gift would you like for this holiday season?

80 Evenings with Coach Dick Ng Developing a Training Method

81 Badminton 2 Cents

What is your badminton New Year’s resolution?

82 Road to Rio by Phillip Chew

ON THE COVER US Women’s Doubles Eva Lee/Paula Obanana win gold at Pan American Championships 2 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Issue #3, March 2014

· Junior International Trial Result

Featuring US junior players competing in the 2014 Pan American Championships and World Junior Championships

· High School Season Preview How to Coach a High School Badminton Team

· Skill Feature

Footwork to the Side, by Kowi Chandra Basic Overhead Stroke, by Ben Lee

· Team Profile

UC Berkeley - 2013 Collegiate National Champions

Badminton Monthly Submission Guidelines:

We at Badminton Monthly welcome all submissions to our magazine. However, when submitting any work, please follow all the rules and guidelines as described below: 1. All works submitted must be by the original creator. If more than one creator, all creators must agree in submitting the work to Badminton Monthly. 2. The act of submitting any works to Badminton Monthly immediately give Badminton Monthly the right of publishing either in print or digital magazine as well as www.badmintonmonthly.com, and any marketing outlet, including social media such as Facebook and Twitter or through other avenues. Badminton Monthly will notify creator(s) should their work be used beyond the scope of its original intent. 3. If creator is under 18, please go to www.badmintonmonthly.com/downloads to download a parental consent form. A parent or legal guardian must sign the form. 4. Unless otherwise negotiated, all submissions to Badminton Monthly will not be paid for. The following can be submitted to, submissions@badmintonmonthly.com. Please label your subject line with one of the following bolded keywords: Letters – letters to the editor in chief, Badminton Monthly, or anyone involved with Badminton Monthly Comments – General comments and criticism about Badminton Monthly Story – While we accept full story submissions, we suggest sending a story pitch with a query before writing a full story. Stories accepted have no guarantee of being published, and the creator will be notified when or if it will be published Pro Photos – Professional quality photos for use with stories Am Photos – Amateur photos for Badminton Monthly’s photo gallery, or for use on www.badmintonmonthly.com Artwork – Fan art, badminton related art for Badminton Monthly’s artist section or for use on www.badmintonmonthly.com Events – Notification of an event to be posted in our event calendar Directory – Feel like we missed your club in the directory? Please let us know Contests – Entry for any contests that Badminton Monthly may hold If there are any questions or concerns, please contact us at editorial@badmintonmonthly.com. Thanks! www.badmintonmonthly.com 83

EDITOR’S NOTE

January 2014

Closing in on World’s Top Talent I was disappointed that Badminton Monthly was not able to attend two of the biggest tournaments that Team USA participated in October. A group of selected junior players participated in the World Junior Championships (WJC) against the world’s best junior players. Meanwhile, the top US players traveled to Dominican Republic for a chance to snag the gold medal from the defending champion, Canada, at the Pan Am Championships (PAC). Even though the final result for WJC was 27th place out of 32 in the team event, the result itself does not reveal what really happened. Team USA had very close games against both France and Sri Lanka in the group round and Team USA could have ended up in the top 16 in the tournament! Meanwhile at PAC, the US lost to Canada in the final, 1-3. Team USA had a very close Mixed Doubles match and lost; the US pair did not play together for a long time until the tournament. If they had won the match, the final results would have World Junior Championships USA junior players, who competed among top junior been different especially with the Pan Am Women’s players from around the world. (from far left to right) Cherie Chow, Kevin Chan, Christine Yang, Aston Khor, Anna Tang, Alan Shekthman, Alena Wang, Roberto Zeng Doubles champions Eva Lee/Paula Lynn Obanana (Photograph: Allysa Khor) playing in the decisive fifth match. Both Head Coaches, Zhou Lei for PAC, a former World Champion, and Johanna Lee for WJC, a former Korean National Team member, commented after the tournament that the US players need consistent training as a team in order to compete against the world’s best players since most of the US players come from all over the United States and do not have enough training time together. Coach Lee says, “US players are talented, and I believe their potential will improve with well-organized training programs and financial support.” The US team will not reach its full potential without a training environment where players can focus on badminton. Junior players are competing on Dec. 26-30 at Affinity Badminton Club in San Carlos, CA, to secure a spot to represent the US for both the Pan Am Junior and World Junior Championships in 2014. Let’s go out there to cheer for the future of Team USA! Kota Morikawa Editor-in-chief kota@badmintonmonthly.com

Publisher: Dwight Sung Associate Publisher: James Young Marketing Director: Sophia Law Editor-in-Chief: Kota Morikawa Managing Editor: Joy Ma Assistant Editor: Rebecca Weiner Art Director: Elizabeth Sung Photography: Derick Santos Manga: Rocket Mango

Badminton Monthly is published bi-monthly in the USA. Copyright 2013 by Badminton Monthly, Inc. at 1482 Oddstad Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063, all rights reserved. Subscription rate for US is $59.88 per 12 issues. If postal service is unable to deliver, we have no further obligation unless we receive corrected address within six months. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Badminton Monthly, Inc., 1482 Oddstad Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063. Any and all material in this publication must not be reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be directed to editorial@badmintonmonthly.com. Customer service and subscriptions please visit www.badmintonmonthly.com or write us at Badminton Monthly, 1482 Oddstad Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063. As with any sport and fitness activities, injuries may occur when playing badminton. Badminton Monthly will not be liable to any injuries caused from the stretches, exercises or training described in any of our magazines or website. To avoid injuries, we recommend training with a specialist and consulting with doctors and other experts in the field. www.badmintonmonthly.com 3

Announcement from the Publisher

Announcement: Transition to Bi-Monthly Magazine Dear Readers, On behalf of the staff here at Badminton Monthly, I’d like to thank you for your continued support and feedback. Since the publication of our first issue, the main lesson we’ve learned is that there is still so much room for us to improve. After a few long discussions with Kota Morikawa, my editor-in-chief, I’ve made the decision to slow the production of Badminton Monthly into a bi-monthly magazine. From the beginning, our goal has been to serve the badminton community – and the best way to do that is to create the best product possible. A monthly publication made our schedules very tight and therefore impossible for us to really spend the time necessary to plan and implement the improvements that I felt was necessary. I personally take responsibility and apologize to all our readers and subscribers. To our subscribers, you will still be getting the same amount of magazines that you signed up for (if you have a one year subscription, you will still get the 12 issues you subscribed for). If for any reason you would like to cancel your subscription, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@ badmintonmonthly.com In an effort to improve our magazine, we have put together a survey that you can find on our website at www.badmintonmonthly.com. These questions are geared to help us create a magazine that will truly serve the badminton community. While I am disappointed in this setback, we are excited for this opportunity to improve the magazine and are hopeful that we will be able to get on track to becoming a monthly magazine soon. Thank you for your understanding and patience. Sincerely, Dwight A. Sung Publisher Badminton Monthly

1482 Oddstad Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063 www.badmintonmonthly.com 4 Badminton Monthly January 2014

LOVE ALL PLAY [ NEWS, RESULTS, GEAR and MORE ]

Triumph in Singapore

Ten-year old Don Henley Averia fought his way through R16 in the U13 category against top Asian Juniors 2013 Singapore Li-Ning Youth International Series Nov. 25-Dec.1, Singapore by Kota Morikawa Photograph: Kallol Roy

ost of the players around him were tall and muscular 12-yearold players from badminton powerhouse countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, yet Don Averia stood alone at the 2013 Singapore Li-Ning Youth International Series knowing he was the youngest—and the only player from a non-Asian country. Averia, current Junior National and two-time Pan American Junior Championship U11 champion, did not get intimidated because he knew badminton was not about only physical superiority. “Don is not one to be intimidated by height and might. He believes that badminton is not just about muscle power, but also about mental power,” says Don Paguio Averia, father of Don Henley. Averia defeated players from Singapore and Malaysia in the first and second round, advancing to the round of 16, where he played against another Malaysian and lost. “He played superbly in the tournament as he had already left a footmark in Asia in this tournament. Coaches from Malaysia came and spoke to me about his great performance,” Averia’s coach Kallol Roy said. The followings are the game reports from Don’s father. R1: Averia 21-7, 21-13 Jasni Amirul Hakim (Singapore) After a shaky start, Don finally felt at ease with the court and the home crowd to finish the first set at 21-7. In the second set, Jasni played more aggressively using his height advantage cleverly, but Don was ready for his smashes and played well executed fast drops. Don closed the second set at 21-13 and won the match. R2: Averia 19-21, 25-23, 21-16 Yap Shai Kuan (Malaysia) Right from the beginning, it was obvious that the match would have long rallies as both boys were quick-footed and very consistent with their shots. Every point was a tough win by each player, thus ending the first set in Yap’s favor at 21-19. The second set was no different from the first as both boys continued to work very hard for each point and Don came up winning with a thrilling 25-23 win. The deciding third set was not only about skills but was also a test of patience, stamina and passion leading to the victory. Don had the upper hand and won the match at 21-16. The match lasted for 42 minutes. R3: Averia 10-21, 18-21 Yap Roy King (Malaysia) Playing in the backcourt, Don struggled with the court drift. Unable to adjust well to this new condition, the drift carried his shots way off target, mostly hitting out. He went down 10-21 in the first set. Changing sides for the second set gave him the upper hand, even leading at 11-5. However, after the break at 11, Yap came back defensively, showing great control over the wily birdie. Our 10-year-old lost his lead and eventually the match at 18-21.

Don Averia (right) with Yap Roy King, third-round opponent from Malaysia

“The loss was a huge disappointment for Don. He felt he had a good chance to win but let it slip away with wrong choice of shots. We take solace in the fact that Don is just 10, playing against a 12-year-old champion from Malaysia” Averia Senior says. “But above all, it has been a very good learning experience for him. It has shown him the areas he must continue to work on if he wants to achieve the winning edge against his Asian opponents. It is his dream to raise the American flag in the winners’ podium of a major BWF tournament in Asia such as this one.” Don Averia Started playing badminton at the age of five in Qatar, where his father is stationed. He was a two-time Pan American Junior Champion in 2012 and 2013. Currently trains at Qatar Badminton Academy, East Coast Badminton Club in Rockville, MD or at the Bay Badminton Center in Milpitas, CA. www.badmintonmonthly.com 5

LOVE ALL PLAY Men’s Doubles winners. (from far left) Silver Medalists Sergiy Shatenko and Andrew D’Souza (CAN), Gold Medalists Hock Lai Lee and Christian Yahya Christianto (USA) and Bronze Medalists Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng (CAN)

YONEX USA International 2013 Nov. 6-10, Orlando, FL

Double Crown for Zhang & Lee Beiwen Zhang and Hock Lai Lee win double crown at the BWF International Series by Elmo Ramos Photographs: Elmo Ramos

ONEX USA International was an exciting tournament in every aspect from the preliminary matches to the heart-pounding finals. Badminton players from around the world gathered to participate in the historic event in Orlando, Florida from November 6-10, 2013. Most notably the players were all friendly and in good spirits. In Men’s Singles Hock Lai Lee was in top form. He took first place against Tatsuya Watanabe in a tense and fast-paced match. Lee and Watanabe exploded into action on the court from the start. The action was fast but in the end Lee’s return slice to the very left corner of the court was what brought down Watanabe. After winning the Singles title, Hock Lai Lee said, “I’m very happy. He was a good competitor!” While performing flawlessly during her last two games against Iris Wang (USA), Beiwen Zhang (USA) won first place in Women’s Singles. In the opening minutes of the first game, Zhang struggled at first to take the lead. Wang looked very focused and was concentrating on winning every single point. Then Wang hit a rough patch and lost 3 points in a row to Zhang. She never recovered after that in the first game. In the second game Wang led by a point then was tied twice with Zhang. Wang sent two shuttles right into the net and

6 Badminton Monthly January 2014

that’s all Zhang needed to pull away and take the lead. Following the match Wang said, “This was my first time getting to the finals in an international competition. I’m happy.” Hock Lai Lee also won first place in the Men’s Doubles competition with his partner Christian Yahya Christianto against Sergiy Shatenko and Andrew D’Souza of Canada. The first match was an all-out intense game up until the fifth point when Lee began putting on a smash clinic. Lee scored 5 unanswered points in a row. D’Souza and Shatenko fought valiantly in the second game shaking off the cobwebs of the first game and playing their best game until the tenth point when Christianto scored twice followed by a smash by Lee.

D’Souza and Shatenko strategized in private huddles ostensibly to regain the court, but in the end Lee’s powerful smashes and Christianto’s masterful strategies were too much for the Canadian duo. Beiwen Zhang with her partner Jing Yu Hong took first place in Women’s Doubles. Hong and Zhang had it rough in the first game against Paula B Pereira and Lohaynny Vicente of Brazil. They were neck to neck for the first 5 points until Pereira missed a break. Every time after returning four straight birdies Pereira sent it into the net. Vicente continued to encourage her teammate despite her frustration. In the second game Pereira and Vicente battled for the first 8 points against Hong and Zhang but in the end the US pair began executing some brilliant set ups. Hong and Zhang would smash on the fall and slice the birdie across the court to the opposite side sending Pereira and Vicente diving and missing most of the shots. The strategy worked and Hong and Zhang took a commanding lead that Pereira and Vicente could not close. In mixed doubles Toby Ng and Michelle Li of Canada delivered two crushing games against Halim Haryanto Ho and Jing Yu Hong of USA. They were neck to neck in the first game, but Li began to hit high birdies that fell in the left and right corners and had Ho and Hong second guessing that the shots were out. Li consistently returned the shots winning 5 crucial points in the first game. Ho and Hong who began returning solely to Li’s partner Ng in an effort to avoid Li. Ng held up his end and after the second game Li and Ng began to dominate and pull further and further away. Ho and Hong were no match for the tight partnership between Ng and Li. After the match Michelle Li said, “I’m proud of myself. I feel good. I accomplished what I came to do.” YONEX USA International was a great experience for the players and the spectators. The spectators saw firsthand how badminton is truly on the rise in the world of sports. Robert Wilson, co-chairman of the YONEX USA International 2013 said it best, “The YONEX USA International was a smashing success!” Women’s Doubles winners Beiwen Zhang (left) and Jing Yu Hong

[News, Results] LOVE ALL PLAY The Adidas NC Open 2013 Oct.10-13, Raleigh, NC

Major Success and Getting Better story and photograph by North Carolina Badminton Club and NC State University Badminton Club, special to Badminton Monthly Photograph: Brandon Hoe

he NC Open is an annual tournament organized by the North Carolina Badminton Club (NCBC), with the Adidas NC Open 2013 marking the fourth-year of this event. Since its inception in 2010, the NC Open has been steadily growing in size and improving in quality. The first NC Open was relatively small and attracted mostly local talent, whereas the second NC Open in 2011 was sponsored by Li-Ning and held in conjunction with a training camp instructed by Danish coach Dennis Christensen, who brought many competitive Danish players to join the local players. Coming off the success of the 2011 NC Open, last year’s event was sponsored by Wilson, which provided merchandise and prizes. For the first time NCBC offered prize money to attract players from as far as Kansas and Illinois. The success of the 2012 event gave NCBC the confidence to raise the stakes this

year for the 2013 tournament. This year, the NCBC decided to make the NC Open the most successful badminton tournament in North Carolina and one of the largest tournaments in the Southeast. It was ranked as a two-star USAB-sanctioned tournament with $8,000 in prize money for open events and $1,400 for senior events. Adidas sponsored the event and provided great support throughout the tournament to make this year’s occasion, the Adidas NC Open 2013, a smashing success. This sponsorship built upon the partnership between Adidas and the NC State University Badminton Club, the host of the tournament. We believe that this triumvirate – Adidas, NC State University and the NCBC – will go a long way in the future to make the NC Open one of the premier badminton events on the East Coast. This year’s tournament attracted talented participants from across the USA and Canada. Players traveled all the way from California, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Canada, as well as from North Carolina. Compared to the previous years, the quality of competition increased dramatically, as the Adidas NC Open 2013 brought players such as, but not limited to, Hendry Winarto, Alan

Northern California Badminton Club Open Nov. 2, Rancho Cordova, CA

Successful First in Sacramento

NCBC owner Bin Teh (right) and his doubles partner Wilson Ku took 2nd in A Men’s Doubles

by Dan Kuang, Special to Badminton Monthly Photographs: Bin Teh

orthern California Badminton Club (NCBC) held its grand-opening tournament on November 2nd, and it was a smashing success! Some of Northern California’s strongest shuttlers came out to celebrate both the fastest sport that we love and a badminton club that was built with the single focus to

share the thrills and joy of badminton in the Sacramento area. Despite the growing Asian population in the Sacramento area, badminton has largely been a second-class citizen among sports. Ask any Sacramento area shuttler about the badminton scene and you’ll get the same response, “Before NCBC opened, we only got to play whenever the gym wasn’t used by basketball, volleyball, band, or any school activity. Even then, you can drive a whole hour to a school gym but they just change the schedule on you!” It was simply frustrating. Things had to change. NCBC represents a positive change for badminton in the Sacramento area. One of the players said, “After NCBC opened, we never have to worry if there’ll be badminton that night.” Making badminton accessible has reignited the passion among many players who grew up swatting birdies in flip-flops as kids back in their homeland as well as for those who had given up on badminton

Shekhtman, Tahtat Pojanakanokporn, Milind Dake, Nicole Grether, Charmaine Reid, and Renee Olson. The 3-day tournament moved along swiftly, and there was never a shortage of amazing badminton play. The Men’s Singles match between Alan Shekhtman and Hendry Winarto was a real treat to watch, as were the semifinal match between Tahtat and Milind and the final showdown between Tahtat and Hendry. These matches constantly demonstrated the remarkable skill, endurance and power required in badminton at a very high competitive level. This year’s NC Open was the finest badminton showcase for talent and scale of any tournament organized thus far in North Carolina. We hope that the tournament will continue to improve next year and move one step closer to becoming a premier event in the Southeast and on the East Coast.

because there was no place to play. Now, there is a fully dedicated badminton facility for shuttlers to get their badminton fix; they can come by any day they want and hit the court with friends and fellow badminton enthusiasts. In addition to a focus on building the badminton community, NCBC understands its responsibility as a member of the international community as a whole. In response to the devastation and suffering as a result of Typhoon Haiyan, NCBC hosted a fundraiser tournament. Thousands of dollars were raised and every penny went to the disaster relief effort. When asked, an NCBC co-partner simply said, “It’s a privilege and a blessing for us to be in a position to help.” NCBC started as a very humble project, driven by a love and passion for badminton. On November 2nd, shuttlers in the badminton community (some as far as the SF Bay area) came out to celebrate an important milestone in NCBC’s timeline and to play their hearts out. This is only the beginning of a very long and wonderful badminton story. Check out its Facebook page. Drop by and you’ll see why this is such a wonderful club dedicated to the sport we all love. www.badmintonmonthly.com 7

LOVE ALL PLAY 39th Annual Ray Scott Memorial Badminton Tournament Oct.26, Papillion, Nebraska

A Two-Panic Tournament by Bob Ericson, Special to Badminton Monthly

t all began with Panic Number Two. 7:13 a.m. Dark outside. My fob key won’t open the gym door! Panic! Is that the right word? Webster defines it as: sudden, overpowering fright. I am so afflicted. What do I do now? Singles games are supposed to begin at 8 a.m. Thirty seven players plus club members will be strolling in. Good thing no one else is here. What am I going to do? Hmmm! I think there should be a custodian somewhere in the building. However, finding him is another matter at that early hour. Pounding on doors didn’t work. Still dark. So I started walking west on the grass towards the cafeteria entrance yanking on door handles as I went. Nope. Not that one. Nope. Not this one. Try another one. Ah! What’s this? An unlocked door? Wünderbar! I can get in. I know my way around inside the school; so I set off for the gym. Walking down one hallway I ran into the sole custodian on duty in the building and related my plight to him. He had no answer other than to say he understood, “they were changing the whole security system and instituting swipe cards before the end of the year”. Hmmmm. More coordination and questions to the Athletic Director in store. I unlocked the gym doors. The gym lights

Open Mixed Doubles medal winners. (from left to right) Consolation winners Cong Van and Zhining Ou, 2nd place Manjiri Joshi and Anuj Sharma (standing behind), 1st place Teri Chu and Sreejith Kaladharan, 3rd place Angie Loong and Wei Ming Lim (standing behind)

were already on. Set up of nets and chairs was done last night. Now it was just a matter of welcoming the players. It’s nearly 8:30– here they come–finally– they’re late. I blew my whistle. Asked everyone to gather around. I welcomed everyone and went over the administrative announcements. We had a moment of silence to honor our tournament namesake, Ray Scott, and Midwest Badminton Association board member and many-time past Ray Scott Memorial participant, Steve Rader, who died earlier this year in a bicycle accident in Madison, Wisconsin. Tirumal Chengalasetty from Top Flight Club then called the first eight Open Men’s Singles (OMS) matches. OMS had a perfect draw with 16 players. All totaled, in 31 games they scored 1,621 points. Palav Deka from Lincoln, Nebraska, emerged victorious by defeating Nick Schafer

Open Men’s Singles winners. (from left to right) Consolation winner Dharmawan Sentosa, 3rd place Budi Prawiro, 1st place Palav Deka, 2nd place Nick Schafer, and Top Flight Club president Bob Ericson 8 Badminton Monthly January 2014

from Houston, Texas, in two games 21-11, 21-12. The 11 and 12 points by Nick were the most scored against Palav as he advanced through the bracket. Their match featured several long rallies. Each chased his opponent around the court looking for an opening to smash or score. An array of different shots, nimble footwork, and strategy enabled Palav to win the match. His backhand clears and especially his shovel dunks at the net set up the final winning point for Palav. He hadn’t competed in a tournament for over a year but watching him play you’d never know it. Nick, his opponent commented afterward, “He’s going to have to take two years off!” Open events were the core of the tournament. Sixteen players in Thomas Lin (center), winner of the Wilson OMS, 13 Open Men’s Doubles racquet, raffle ticket drawer Srutee Deka teams, only four Open Women’s (far left) and Tirumal Chengalasetty from Doubles teams, and eight Open Top Flight Club (right) Mixed Doubles teams. One Senior Men’s Singles, one Master Mixed Doubles match, and an Open Women’s Doubles Round Robin completed the events. See all results at the end of this story. We play the fastest racquet sport in the world and we love the game; but, badminton players also like to eat. Play stopped for lunch. The Top Flight Badminton Club served up sandwiches, chips, and veggies. Desserts were provided especially by Top Flight’s international players. Highlights of the sweet soiree were Doug McIntosh’s homemade Honey Cake (reportedly baked about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning); Suraj Shrestha’s large silver baking pan of creamy rice

[News, Results] LOVE ALL PLAY pudding (I had at least three helpings); Wei Ming Lim’s homemade cheesecake; Sanjay Shrestha’s Nepalese rasbari; Edward Lee’s coconut pudding; Anuj Sharma and Manjiri Joshi’s Indian kaju katli. Not to be outdone by the international folks, Rod Reidy contributed chocolate-covered marshmallow biscuits. Sated, the players ambled back to the courts for doubles. Before heading back to the courts, Srutee Deka, Palav’s 5-year old daughter drew the winning ticket from a coffee can full of raffle tickets held by Top Flight’s Chengalasetty. Joe Heydt of Omaha’s Racquet Corner donated a Wilson Nanotechnology (K) Factor Arophite Black racquet for the raffle. Thomas Lin from Manhattan, Kansas, was the lucky recipient. Thomas and the Top Flight Badminton Club thank Joe for his generous donation. Open Men’s Doubles livened up the afternoon competition. One match, between eventual third place winners, Sreejith Kaladharan/ Anuj Sharma, Top Flight club members, featured a close second game OT score of 26-24 as they bested Trung Nguyen/Franklin Sumargo from Lincoln, Nebraska. This was the highest OT score of the tournament. To get third place the duo had to beat fellow club members Apirat Lattison/Wei Ming Lim in three games, 21-17, 14-21, 21-15. In the OMD final, Nick Schafer/ Dan Mehr won a fast-paced, closely contested match 21-16, 21-18 over Gaurav Chohan from Manhattan, Kansas and his partner, Budi Prawiro from Bucyrus, Kansas. Three of the eight Open Mixed Doubles matches went three-games. One, in the first round, was an OT match between Wei Ming Lim/Angie Loong (Top Flight Club members) and Trung Nguyen/Ming Zhan from Lincoln, Nebraska. Final score: 25-23. The OMxD final was also a three-gamer that saw partners Terry Chu from Kansas City, MO/Sreejith Kaladharan (Top Flight) get the better of fellow Top Flighters Anuj Sharma/Manjiri Joshi, 21-13, 13-21, 21-14. The shuttles finally stopped flying around 5:30 p.m. Ray Scott, “the guru” himself, would have been proud of Top Flight. As of 7 p.m. the Sunday night before the tournament there wasn’t going to be a tournament (only 14 entrants). Panic number one. (You thought I forgot, didn’t you?) Eighteen Top Flight members signed up to play thus saving the 39th annual tournament. Ray’s famous words, out of the past, ring true once more, and serve as motivation–“press on”–we did and we will because number 40 is on the horizon–only a year away. It promises to be a special event: a crowning touch on the Top Flight Badminton Club’s long history. There won’t be a panic for this one.

Unique to the tournament. There is a banquet after Saturday games to build friendships. All the participants were invited (Photogragh: EBA)

EBA Open 2013 Oct.26-27, Emeryville, CA

How It All Began by Simon Wong, special to Badminton Monthly

wo years ago 70 players participated in the first EBA (Eastbay Badminton Association) Open 2011. Now, in our third year, EBA Open 2013 has doubled in size hosting more than 150 participants. The idea to start EBA Open came from a small group of members whose love for badminton took them to tournaments all around the United States and Canada. Through these experiences, they brought together the things they loved about tournaments and adopted the same approach to create EBA Open. Parts of the event from the drop-flight tournament format, Saturday night banquet, raffles, the mini-games played at the banquet were inspired by other tournaments in the country. EBA Open’s original goal was to allow badminton players of all different skill levels to challenge their own abilities, improve, and most importantly have fun meeting others who share the same passion. The drop-flight tournament format, for those who are not familiar with the term, has every player starting out in the same flight, e.g. the “A/Open” flight. Depending on the match outcomes, players drop down into successive flights, namely, B/C/D Flights. If they win their first and second matches, they will be guaranteed a spot in the “A/Open” Flight. If they win their first round, and then lose the second round, then they will “drop down” to the “B” flight. If they lose their first round and then win the second round, they will be dropped down to the “C” flight, and lastly, if

A Open Men’s Singles winner Timothy Lam (left) and EBA Owner Kenneth Yeung (Photograph: David Siu)

they lose two consecutive rounds, they will be dropped down to the “D” flight. We chose this format to guarantee each of our players a minimum of three matches. However, we do run into difficult situations when players drop or forfeit at the last minute. In addition, the seeding for the players also have to be done very carefully, so we do not have very strong players dropping down into lower flights. The countless hours spent carefully seeding, meticulously planning each match time, creating match cards, and preparing for the tournament are all done by a small group of dedicated volunteers. We can proudly say that this tournament embodies the spirit and culture that Eastbay Badminton Association aims to promote amongst its players and the rest of the badminton community. It’s one that cultivates community and the love of the sport of badminton. Through EBA Open, we broke down the barriers between A/B/C/D players and allowed everyone a chance to play against new opponents, form new friendships, and gave them an opportunity to put in their best efforts for a chance to take home that grand prize. For those who didn’t make it to the finals, we offer a variety of free prize giveaways including rackets/bags/shuttlecocks, and even a trip for two to Las Vegas in previous years. We host a tournament dinner every year, for players to come together outside of a badminton court, enjoy a nice meal together, chat, and form new friendships. Every year we aim to provide our participants with a unique experience and hope they will build strong bonds within the badminton community. www.badmintonmonthly.com 9

LOVE ALL PLAY Junior Bintang Junior Open Oct.11-13, South San Francisco, CA

U9 Mixed Doubles

1. Alex Sin/Kyra Li 2. Caden J Liu/Jessica Tang 3. Ved Vedere/Allison Lee 4. Weslie Chen/Veronica Yang

Boys’ Singles 1. Weslie Chen 2. Caden J Liu 3. Alex Sin 4. Jerry Yuan

Boys’ Doubles

1. Caden J Liu/Alex Sin 2. Weslie Chen/Zhaohua Zhang 3. Abhiram Chandra/Ved Vedere 4. Jack Yang/Jerry Yuan

Girls’ Singles

1. Kyra Li 2. Allison Lee 3. Francesca Autumn Corbett 4. Jessica Tang

Girls’ Doubles

1. Francesca Autumn Corbett/Allison Lee 2. Jessica Tang/Veronica Yang 3. Hailey Hung/Jaylyn J Lee

U11 Mixed Doubles

1. Joshua Yuan/Claire Chen 2. Brandon Xu/Yuqing Qiu 3. Alohi Sheung/Tiffany Kuang 4. Siddhartha Javvaji/Kalea Sheung

Boys’ Singles

1. Siddhartha Javvaji 2. Edward Zhang 3. Edison Ma 4. Mihir Raja

Boys’ Doubles

1. Siddhartha Javvaji/Mihir Raja 2. Edison Ma/Joshua Yeung 3. Jeremy Chen/Edward Zhang 4. Alec Lee/Andrew Wang

Girls’ Singles 1. Tiffany Kuang 2. Claire Chen 3. Yuqing Qiu 4. Jolie Wang

Girls’ Doubles

1. Claire Chen/Nicole Ju 2. Kalea Sheung/Jolie Wang 3. Allison Hwang/Kristine N Ngo 4. Sheryl Lim/Amber Zhang

U13 Mixed Doubles

2. Cadmus Yeo/April Gong 3. Justin Banquiles/Bianca Tam 4. Alexander Zheng/Jennie Gai

Boys’ Singles

1. Bryce Kan 2. Ethan Low 3. Eric Jiang 4. Karthik Kalyanasundaram

Boys’ Doubles

1. Eric Jiang/Bryce Kan 2. Eric Chang/Karthik Kalyanasundaram 3. Dean Tan/Alexander Zheng 4. Michael Chau/Adrian Lee

1. Vivian Yao 2. Maggie Li 3. Karina Chan 4. Tammy Xie

Girls’ Doubles

1. Maggie Li/Sasha Tang 2. Karina Chan/Tammy Xie 3. Maalveka Ilango/Martina Reyes 4. Vivian Yao/Cassandra Yu

U15 Mixed Doubles

1. Ethan Low/Cindy Yuan

10 Badminton Monthly January 2014

1. Catherine Zheng 2. Amanda Ng 3. Agnes Han 3. Taylor Chao

Boys’ Singles

1. April Gong/Christine Yu 2. Jennie Gai/Helen Ye 3. Danice Long/Karen Ma 4. Jasmine Lee/Bianca Tam

U17 Mixed Doubles

1. Anthony Chu/Danice Long 2. David Li Zhao/Fiona Lai 3. Calvin Dai/Sarah Chang 4. Alan Chuang/Ivy Xie

Boys’ Singles

1. Mason Jiang 2. Andre Wang 3. Gokul Kalyanasundaram 4. Cadmus Yeo

Boys’ Doubles

1. Anthony Chu/Alan Chuang 2. Mason Jiang/Darren Lo 3. Eric Cheung/Calvin Dai 4. Gokul Kalyanasundaram/Cadmus Yeo

Girls’ Singles

1. Madeline Sporkert 2. Cindy Yuan 3. Karen Ma 4. Ivy Xie

Girls’ Doubles

1. Kiko Chin Wai Li/Ivy Xie 2. Julie Yeung/Cindy Yuan 3. Fiona Lai/Katie Lam

U19 Mixed Doubles

1. Kevin Chan/Christine Yang 2. Christopher Zhang/Stephanie Lam 3. Justin Ma/Cally Chung 4. Brian Duong/Priscilla Long

Boys’ Singles 1. Justin Ma 2. Jan Banquiles 3. Jordy Supandi 4. Kevin Chan

1. Annie Xu 2. Kerry Xu 3. Julie Yeung 4. Priscilla Long

Girls’ Singles

Girls’ Doubles

1. Tony Liu Zhou 2. Brandon Xu 3. Alistair Lee 4. Derek Tan

1. Brandon Xu/Joshua Yuan 2. Derek Tan/Trevor Tan 3. Tony Liu Zhou/Michael Tang 4. Alistair Lee/Justin Wang

1. Nikhil Vasudeva/Andrew Yuan 2. Nicholas Chiu/Jason Zhan 3. Andrew Lee/Daniel Tigas 3. Presley Smith/Franklin Yiu

U13 Mixed doubles

1. Christine Yu 2. Danice Long 3. Jennie Gai 4. Bianca Tam

Boys’ Doubles

Boys’ doubles

Girls’ Singles

1. Karthik Kalyanasundaram/Karina Chan 2. Eric Duong/Cassandra Yu 3. Alistair Lee/Martina Reyes 4. Calvin Xia/Vivian Yao

Boys’ Singles

3. Presley Smith

1. Kevin Chan/Jordy Supandi 2. Jan Banquiles/Justin Ma 3. Brian Duong/Yikhin Wong

Girls’ Singles

Girls’ Doubles

1. Annie Xu/Kerry Xu 2. Priscilla Long/Madeline Sporkert 3. Cally Chung/Stephanie Lam

New Jersey Junior Championships Super Regional

1. Eugene Soon/Laura Soon 2. Andrew Yuan/Evelyn Zeng 3. Don Averia/Agnes Han 3. Andrew Zhang/Catherine Zheng 1. Don Averia 2. Timothy Shee 3. Clayton Cayen 3. Andrew Zhang

Boys’ Doubles

1. Don Averia/Nikhil Vasudeva 2. Alvin Li/Timothy Shee 3. Eric O’Connor/Alexander Wang 3. Oscar Yao/Andrew Zhang

Girls’ Singles

1. Evelyn Zeng 2. Laura Soon 3. Anne Bayani 3. Julianna Rylko

Girls’ Doubles

1. Emma Lin/Nitya Nagarajan 2. Evelyn Zeng/Catherine Zheng 3. Kristen Choi/Siya Ragade 3. Vanessa Qiu/Samantha Saour

U15 Mixed Doubles

1. Bobby Huang/Amelia Lee 2. Clayton Cayen/Michelle Zhang 3. Neo Vasudeva/Sanchita Pandey 3. Timothy Shee/Zoe Chow

Boys’ Singles

1. Raymond Chen 2. Aditya Yedetore 3. Bobby Huang 3. Neo Vasudeva

Boys’ Doubles

1. Isaac Ehrlich/Aditya Yedetore 2. Clayton Cayen/Raymond Chen 3. Bobby Huang/Neo Vasudeva 3. Ryan Nibu/Ritvik Regulapati

Boys’ Singles

1. Darren Yang 2. Nicholas Waller 3. Aston Khor 3. Alex Cheng

Boys’ Doubles

1. Aston Khor/Nicholas Waller 2. Darren Yang/Jerry Yang 3. Alex Cheng/Ethan Wu 3. Benjamin Chen/Joseph Pitman

Girls’ Singles

1. Victoria Chen 2. Candy Zhang 3. Krista Hsu 3. Soumya Gade

Girls’ Doubles

1. Victoria Chen/Adrienne Lin 2. Soumya Gade/Candy Zhang 3. Jamie Hsu/Nadia Susanto

New England Junior Open Nov. 23-24, Marblehead, MA

U9 Mixed Doubles

1. Albert Tang/Carolyn Zeng 2. Merric Hu/Karina Yang 3. Kai Chong/Jennifer Cui

Boys’ Singles

1. Robert Shekhtman 2. Wain Guo 3. Justin Huang 4. Albert Tang

Boys’ Doubles

1. Merric Hu/Albert Tang 2. Robert Shekhtman/Melvin Thu 3. Wain Guo/Shawn Xia

Girls’ Singles 1. Karina Yang 2. Maggie Chen 3. Carolyn Zeng

U11 Mixed Doubles

Girls’ Doubles

1. Andrew Yuan 2. Nicholas Chiu 3. Jason Zhan 4. Liam Mcilroy

1. Amelia Lee 2. Ally Jin 3. Sanchita Pandey 3. Yamini Yedetore 1. Amelia Lee/Michelle Zhang 2. Ally Jin/Emily Lin 3. Annette Lam/Yamini Yedetore 3. Shalu Manoharan/Julianna Rylko

U17 Mixed Doubles

1. Joseph Pitman/Nicole Frevold 2. Benjamin Chen/Krista Hsu 3. Raymond Chen/Nadia Susanto 3. Chun Lok Lo/Brianna Wang

Boys’ Singles

1. Farren Chan 2. Jonathan Shee 3. Chun Lok Lo 3. Yu Matsumura

Boys’ Doubles

Boys’ Singles

1. Nadia Susanto 2. Michelle Zhang 3. Nicole Frevold 3. Rina Yan

1. Andrew Yuan 2. Nicholas Chiu 3. Franklin Yiu

1. Aston Khor/Soumya Gade 2. Alex Cheng/Adrienne Lin 3. Darren Yang/Victoria Chen

Girls’ Singles

1. Anson Cheung/Victor Wong 2. Kevin Cheng/Yu Matsumura 3. Chun Lok Lo/Jonathan Shee 3. Nathaniel Cayen/Peter Waller

1. Nicholas Chiu/Amanda Ng 2. Derek Dong/Sarah Tang 3. Presley Smith/Taylor Chao 3. Franklin Yiu/Esther Soon

U19 Mixed Doubles

1. Andrew Yuan/Agnes Han 2. Jason Zhan/Catherine Zheng 3. Franklin Yiu/Maggie Chen 4. Richard Wang/Beatrice Han

U11 Mixed doubles

Oct.12-14, Montville, NJ

2. Brianna Wang/Rina Yan 3. Sophia Ding/Elena Yang 3. Joanne Chen/Sophie Deutsch

Girls’ Singles

Girls’ Doubles

1. Nicole Frevold/Krista Hsu

Boys’ Singles

Boys’ Doubles

1. Justin Huang/Daniel Tigas 2. Wain Guo/Jason Zhan 3. David Dombrovsky/Liam Mcilroy 4. Andrew Lee/Melvin Thu

Girls’ Singles

1. Catherine Zheng 2. Agnes Han 3. Beatrice Han 4. Maggie Chen

Girls’ Doubles

1. Xinyi Hu/Shibani Ram 2. Agnes Han/Beatrice Han 3. Karina Yang/Carolyn Zeng

U13 Mixed Doubles

1. Andrew Zhang/Evelyn Zeng 2. Ryan Zheng/Emma Lin 3. Nathan He/Catherine Zheng 4. Aaron Zhang/Julianna Rylko

Boys’ Singles 1. Oscar Yao 2. Andrew Yuan 3. Nathan He 4. Steven Li

Boys’ Doubles

1. Oscar Yao/Andrew Zhang

[News, Results] LOVE ALL PLAY 2. Andy Ng/Ryan Zheng 3. Jason Tigas/Stanley Wu 4. Steven Li/Evan Wu

Girls’ Singles

1. Evelyn Zeng 2. Julianna Rylko 3. Kristen Choi 4. Nitya Nagarajan

Girls’ Doubles

1. Emma Lin/Nitya Nagarajan 2. Samantha Saour/Yelin Yao 3. Vanessa Qiu/Serena Tzeng

U15 Mixed Doubles

1. Aditya Yedetore/Yamini Yedetore 2. Isaac Ehrlich/Shalu Manoharan 3. Oscar Yao/Emily Lin 4. Ryan Shum/Zoe Chow

Boys’ Singles

1. Clayton Cayen 2. Aditya Yedetore 3. Ryan Shum 4. Isaac Ehrlich

Boys’ Doubles

1. Isaac Ehrlich/Aditya Yedetore 2. Andy Ng/Daniel Zhan 3. Ryan Shum/Jeffrey Wang 4. Phillip Kang/Thomas Hwang

Girls’ Singles

1. Ally Jin 2. Yamini Yedetore 3. Shalu Manoharan 4. Emily Lin

Girls’ Doubles

1. Ally Jin/Emily Lin 2. Neha Jayan/Jennifer Zhang 3. May Ling/Yamini Yedetore 4. Zoe Chow/Stacey Zhang

U17 Mixed Doubles

1. Jonathan Shee/Nicole Frevold 2. Kevin Cheng/Ally Jin 3. Victor Wong/Amelia Lee 4. Anson Cheung/Sophie Deutsch

Boys’ Singles

1. Farren Chan 2. Jonathan Shee 3. Clayton Cayen 4. Alex Cui

Boys’ Doubles

1. Chun Lok Lo/Jonathan Shee 2. Clayton Cayen/Raymond Chen 3. Farren Chan/Anson Cheung 4. Kevin Cheng/Yu Matsumura

Girls’ Singles

1. Stephanie Lin 2. Joanne Chen 3. Kyleen Jan 4. Sophie Deutsch

Girls’ Doubles

1. Nicole Frevold/Brianna Wang 2. Amelia Lee/Elena Yang 3. Joanne Chen/Sophie Deutsch 4. Moriah Gau/Ryan Ricker

U19 Mixed Doubles

1. Nicholas Waller/Elena Yang 2. Darren Yang/Brianna Wang 3. Jerry Yang/Nicole Frevold 4. Jay Wang/Jessica Hu

Boys’ Singles

1. Darren Yang 2. Alex Cheng 3. Nicholas Waller 4. Ethan Wu

Boys’ Doubles

1. Alan Shekhtman/Nicholas Waller 2. Darren Yang/Jerry Yang 3. Kevin Cheng/Victor Wong 4. Alex Cheng/Ethan Wu

Girls’ Singles

1. Amelia Lee 2. Judy Yang 3. Huyen Nguyen 4. Bonnie Chan

Girls’ Doubles

1. Kyleen Jan/Angela Wu 2. Jessica Hu/Yun Zhao 3. Trisha Cordero/Michelle Ling

U24 Girls’ Singles

1. Huyen Nguyen 2. Ellen Lin 3. Jasmine Liu

NorCal Regional Junior Badminton Tournament Nov.29-Dec.1, Burlingame, CA

U9 Mixed Doubles

Girls’ Doubles

1. Mirabelle Huang/Xinyu Zhang 2. Maalveka Ilango/Martina Reyes 3. Karina Chan/Tammy Xie 4. Lauren Lam/Katelin Ngo

U15 Mixed Doubles

1. Phillip Jap/Kelly Jap 2. Bryce Kan/Jamie Hsu 3. Ricky Liu/Joanna Liu 4. Ethan Low/Cindy Yuan

Boys’ Singles

1. Eric Jiang 2. Stephen Ding 3. Bryce Kan 4. Karthik Kalyanasundaram

1. Ryan Ma/Kaitlyn Wang 2. Caden Liu/Francesca Corbett 3. Alex Sin/Kyra Li 4. Weslie Chen/Veronica Yang Boys’ Singles 1. Weslie Chen 2. Thompson Ma 3. Alex Sin 4. Jedd Perea

Boys’ Doubles

1. Caden Liu/Alex Sin 2. Weslie Chen/Zhaohua Zhang 3. Abhiram Chandra/Ved Vedere 4. Jack Yang/Jerry Yuan

Girls’ Doubles

Boys’ Doubles

Girls’ Singles 1. Kyra Li 2. Kaitlyn Wang 3. Allison Lee 4. Zoey Yong

Girls’ Doubles

1. Francesca Corbett/Allison Lee 2. Kyra Li/Kaitlyn Wang 3. Jessica Tang/Veronica Yang

U11 Mixed Doubles

1. Brandon Xu/Yvonne Yuqing Qiu 2. Andrew Wang/Jolie Wang 3. Siddhartha Javvaji/Kalea Sheung 4. Joshua Yeung/Netra Shetty

Boys’ Singles

1. Siddhartha Javvaji 2. Joshua Yeung 3. Andrew Wang 4. Edison Ma

Boys’ Doubles

1. Siddhartha Javvaji/Mihir Raja 2. Jeremy Chen/Edward Zhang 3. Adrian Mar/Brandon Wu 4. Edison Ma/Thompson Ma

Girls’ Singles

1. Nicole Ju 2. Jolie Wang 3. Netra Shetty 4. Kalea Sheung

Girls’ Doubles

1. Tiffany Kuang/Yvonne Yuqing Qiu 2. Kalea Sheung/Jolie Wang 3. Allison Hwang/Kristine Ngo

U13 Mixed Doubles

1. Derek Tan/Maggie Li 2. Karthik Kalyanasundaram/Karina Chan 3. Eric Duong/Cassandra Yu 4. Alvin So/Mirabelle Huang

Boys’ Singles 1. Dean Tan 2. Tony Liu Zhou 3. Eric Duong 4. Joseph Zhang

Boys’ Doubles

1. Alvin Li/Calvin Xia 2. Emerson Chao/Joseph Zhang 3. Brandon Xu/Joshua Yuan 4. Jacob Yeung/David Zhu

Girls’ Singles 1. Cassandra Yu 2. Karina Chan 3. Tiffany Kuang

Local

4. Lauren Lam

1. Ethan Low/Ambrose So 2. Justin Lam/Ryan Siu 3. Stephen Ding/Eric Jiang 4. Eric Chang/Karthik Kalyanasundaram

Girls’ Singles 1. Christine Yu 2. Jennie Gai 3. Melody Lin 4. Xinyu Zhang

1. Jacqueline Cai/Helen Wang 2. Jasmine Lee/Bianca Tam 3. April Gong/Christine Yu 4. Jennie Gai/Helen Ye

U17 Mixed Doubles

1. Darren Lo/Krista Hsu 2. Calvin Dai/Sarah Chang 3. Gokul Kalyanasundaram/Kiko Chin Wai Li 4. Anthony Chu/Danice Long

Boys’ Singles

1. Darren Lo 2. Gokul Kalyanasundaram 3. Mason Jiang 4. Cadmus Yeo

Boys’ Doubles

1. Anthony Chu/Alan Chuang 2. Mason Jiang/Darren Lo 3. Gokul Kalyanasundaram/Cadmus Yeo 4. Derek Hu/Andre Wang

Girls’ Singles

1. Joanna Liu 2. Nadia Susanto 3. Breanna Chi 4. Ivy Xie

Girls’ Doubles

1. Julie Yeung/Cindy Yuan 2. Kiko Chin Wai Li/Ivy Xie 3. Jamie Hsu/Nadia Susanto 4. Krista Hsu/Danice Long

U19 Mixed Doubles

1. Brian Duong/Priscilla Long 2. Yik Hin Wong/Sonya Wong 3. Kevin Chan/Cally Chung 4. Vinson Chiu/Crystal Pan

Adidas NC Open 2013 Oct.10-13, Raleigh, NC

Men’s Singles Open

1. Hendry Winarto 2. Tahtat Pojanakanokporn 3. Truong Quang Pham 3. Milind Dake

Open (C-level)

1. Noel Mathew 2. Sajeesh kumar Kulappurath 3. Debananda Neog 3. Brandon Hoe

U11 Boys’ Singles

1. James Jin 2. Jan Maverick Llamado Perez 3. Alec Zlotchenko

40+

1. Victor Yu Yu 2. Pedro Arturo Garcia 3. Chong Lai 3. Alvin Billones

55+

1. Bill Mcmahon 2. Pedro Arturo Garcia 3. Peter Popovich 3. Waheed Akhtar

Men’s Doubles Open

1. Cosmin Ioan/Hendry Winarto 2. John Rayo Acebu/Tahtat Pojanakanokporn 3. Golden Huang/Edwin Shin 3. Milind Dake/Pushkar Phadke

Open (C-level)

1. Samsudeen Ammanullah/Anoop M H Das 2. Joseph Abraham/Shabu Chennampally 3. Leon Grodski De Barrera/Brandon Hoe 3. Jason W Auw/Ravi Kant Chourdia

40+

1. Pratap M Joshi/Chong Lai 2. Yongbing Pu/Jun Yu 3. Joel Barnett/Bill Mcmahon 3. Yong Lin/Hy Trang

Women’s Singles Open 1. Nicole Grether 2. Charmaine Reid 3. Marina Vassiliev 3. Renee Olson

Open (C-level)

1. Evi Bruster 2. Sampada Agarwal 3. Shreya Avadhuta 3. Anusha Liyanage

U11 Girls’ Singles 1. Shreya Avadhuta 2. Kathleen Trang 3. Ilana I Zlotchenko

Boys’ Singles

Women’s Doubles Open

Boys’ Doubles

Open (C-level)

1. Phillip Jap 2. Albert Li 3. Justin Ma 4. Jordy Supandi

1. Nicole Grether/Charmaine Reid 2. Caroline Craighill/Sreelatha Patinhareppat 3. Duyen Nguyen/Marina Vassiliev 3. Anna Cheah/Jacqueline Myers

1. Vinson Chiu/Brian Duong 2. Kevin Chan/Jordy Supandi 3. Phillip Jap/Melvin Tok 4. Calvin Dai/David Zhao

1. Josie Spontak/Niem Tran 2. Anusha Liyanage/Gayathri Shivaraj 3. Alethea Florido Cababa/Rosalyn Munar Tiamzon 3. Shreya Avadhuta/Eileen Gloria Gu

Girls’ Singles 1. Crystal Pan 2. Kerry Xu 3. Julie Yeung 4. Annie Xu

Girls’ Doubles

1. Annie Xu/Kerry Xu 2. Priscilla Long/Madeline Sporkert 3. Cally Chung/Pinky Sheung Wei Li 4. Rebecca Tzou/Lucy Wang

40+

1. Jacqueline Myers/Duyen Nguyen 2. Anna Cheah/Caroline Craighill 3. Sreelatha Patinhareppat/Josie Spontak 3. Yusun Wang/Lingji Zhang

Mixed Doubles Open

1. Alan Shekhtman/Charmaine Reid 2. John Rayo Acebu/Shan Yong 3. Tahtat Pojanakanokporn/Renee Olson 3. Edwin Shin/Candra Tran

www.badmintonmonthly.com 11

LOVE ALL PLAY Open (C-level)

1. Kumar Padmanabhuni/Aarthi Prakash 2. Pavel Vassiliev/Anusha Liyanage 3. Marx T/Gayathri Shivaraj 3. Yongbing Pu/Yusun Wang

40+

1. Pratap Joshi/Caroline Craighill 2. Hy Trang/Anna Cheah 3. Tony Hewitt/Josie Spontak 3. Yongbing Pu/Liwei Huang

Unisex Doubles U11 Kids’ Doubles

1. James Jin/Hanson Zhang 2. Alec Zlotchenko/Ilana I Zlotchenko 3. Shreya Avadhuta/Kathleen Trang

80+ (Combined)

1. Cosmin Ioan/Duyen Nguyen 2. Tony Hewitt/Debananda Neog 3. Joji Hirabayashi/David Shaw 3. Anna Cheah/Jacqueline Myers

2. June Loh/Yan Cathy Ren 3. Ai Lean Lim/Meena Nibu

Mixed Doubles Open

1. Halim Haryanto Ho/Jing Yu Hong 2. Sarun Vivatpatanakul/Bei Wen Zhang 3. Dean Hu/Polly Wu 3. Greg O Okuonghae/Cassie Padlan

1. Swee Koh/Heong Ooi 2. Kyle Yao/Lu Lao 3. Irnov Efendi/Made H Setiawan 3. Terry Nguyen/Anne Choux

Senior

1. Ravi Malalasekera/Ismat Shaikh 2. Girish Ramireddy/Chern-Nee Tan 3. Phu Khuu/Ai Lean Lim 3. Ferry Wijaya/Cindy Lee

39th Annual Ray Scott Memorial Badminton Tournament

100+ (Combined)

1. Jawahir Bashir/Victor Yu Yu 2. Joel Barnett/Bill Mcmahon 3. Dongming Ma/Ahmed K Punjwani 3. Tony Hewitt/John Hewitt

Yonex Houston Open Nov. 1-3, Houston, TX

Men’s Singles Open

1. Sittichai Viboonsin 2. Yoga Pratama 3. Hock Lai Lee 3. Pratik Patel

1. Matthias Odisio 2. Chong Wei Ooi 3. Ann Kiat Gan 3. Makarand Jadhav

Men’s Doubles Open

1. Holvy De Pauw/Sittichai Viboonsin 2. Matt He/Sarun Vivatpatanakul 3. Christian Yahya Christianto/Hock Lai Lee 3. Halim Haryanto Ho/Agusriadi Amphie Wijaya

1. Swee Koh/Choon-Ming Yap 2. Jimmy Leong/Ivan Zhao 3. Chong Wei Ooi/San Chiang Tan 3. Michael Aldaba/Irnov Efendi

Senior

1. Ravi Malalasekera/Girish Ramireddy 2. Rodney Wong/Yingqi Yu 3. Lian Ler/Nibu Paul 3. Tom Jie/Roman Stana

Master

1. Tom Jie/Roman Stana 2. Li Jiang/Zhen Su 3. Chi-Cheng Andy Lo/Andrei Tudoran 3. Harris Wong/Qingming Zhang

Oct.26, Papillion, Nebraska

Men’s Singles Open

1. Palav Deka 2. Nick Schafer 3. Budi Prawiro Consolation. Dharmawan Sentosa

Senior

1. Rod Reidy 2. Sanjay Shrestha

Women’s Singles Open 1. Vanessa Yapp 2. Zhining Ou 3. Angie Loong

Men’s Doubles Open

1. Nick Schafer/Dan Mehr 2. Gaurav Chohan/Budi Prawiro 3. Sreejith Kaladharan/Anuj Sharma Consolation: Prach Somjit/Edward Lee

Women’s Doubles Open

1. Teri Chu/Zhining Ou 2. Vanessa Yapp/Ming Zhan 3. Manjiri Joshi/Angie Loong

Mixed Doubles Open

1. Sreejith Kaladharan/Teri Chu 2. Anuj Sharma/Manjiri Joshi 3. Wei Ming Lim/Angie Loong Consolation: Cong Van/Zhining Ou

Master

1. Karen Harned/Kashinath Volvoicar 2. Ashok Pursawalkam/Wadee Lassalle

Women’s Singles Open

1. Bei Wen Zhang 2. Jing Yu Hong 3. Tina-Rose Cavazos

EBA Open 2013 Oct.26-27, Emeryville, CA

Men’s Singles A Open

1. Lily Wen 2. Henny Rosalina 3. Becky Jin 3. Lilian Loh

1. Timothy Lam 2. Jimmy Pohan 3. Serge Thomas Blanchet 3. James Young

Women Doubles Open

1. Pimadej Siwapornpitak 2. Andy Lam 3. An Thanh Nguyen 3. Yu Wang

1. Jing Yu Hong/Bei Wen Zhang 2. Tina-Rose Cavazos/Ruth L Menchaca 3. Cassie Padlan/Polly Wu 3. Cindy Lee/Mariani Setiawaty

1. Heong Ooi/Henny Rosalina 2. Yun Chen/Linxi Xia 3. Chloe Wen/Ting Yu 3. Rachna Elhence/Snehal Pawar

Senior

1. Mariani Setiawaty/Ismat Shaikh

12 Badminton Monthly January 2014

1. Van Pham 2. Jared Babula 3. Tri Nguyen Min Doan 3. David Li Zhao

1. Minh Nhat Tran 2. Anoukhan Steven Kittirath 3. Vinh Pham 3. Nabin Lin

Men’s Doubles A Open

3. Yu Wang/Shuming Chen 3. Joshua Dao/Fiona Lai

1. Howard Bach/Bo Zhao 2. Michael Julian Buasan/Sameera Gunatileka 3. Serge Thomas Blanchet/Yipeng Yang 3. Ronald Koko/Adrian Pan

1. Kazutaka Akagi/Raymond Leung 2. Tam Do/Nam Quoc Le 3. Joshua Dao/Michael Lam 3. Tony Lau/Phong Truong

1. Douglas La/Makiko Imada 2. Kevin Brimmerman/Melisa Ann Byrd 3. Prasanna Vs/Siva Chava 3. Kenneth Chan/Shannel Cheung

1. Minh Nhat Tran/Chi Phan 2. Kelly B. Ros/Jennifer Chan 3. Gen Makino/Josie Flores 3. Kent Yoeung/Lillian H Tran

1. David Chock/Simon Wong 2. Michael Trevor Taylor/Peter Yam 3. Jarold Fiesta Cordero/Richard Li 3. Matthew Au/Anthony Ha

1. Ryan Ke/Andrew Santos 2. Andre Carlo Alvarez/Derek Toy 3. Kamlesh Deshmukh/Mullah Quamrul 3. Hugh Lam/Venugopal Malyala

Women’s Singles Open

1. Pinky Sheung Wei Li 2. Kiko Chin Wai Li 3. Melisa Ann Byrd 4. Xin Huang

Women’s Doubles Open

1. Sarah Chan/Jing Yu Hong 2. Melisa Ann Byrd/Nicole Hall Young 3. Calrice Ho/Mei Ng 3. Tiffany Jianto/Carol Quach

1. Xin Huang/Fiona Lai 2. Bonnie P Chan/Cindy W Wong 3. Carrie Cho/Sharon Ma 3. Jo Lawrence/Rika Onishi Mortimer

Mixed Doubles A Open

1. James Young/Jing Yu Hong 2. William Cheung/Daphne Ng 3. Serge Thomas Blanchet/Sarah Chan 3. Jordy Supandi/Pinky Sheung Wei Li

1. Ronald Koko/Tiffany Jianto 2. Joseph Lam/Phing Lee-Ean Turner

YONEX USA International 2013 Nov. 6-10, Orlando, FL

Men’s Singles

1. Hock Lai Lee (USA) 2. Tatsuya Watanabe (Japan) 3. Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) 3. Maxime Moreels (Belgium)

Men’s Doubles

1. Christian Yahya Christianto/Hock Lai Lee (USA) 2. Andrew D’Souza/Sergiy Shatenko (Canada) 3. Kohei Gondo/Tatsuya Watanabe (Japan) 3. Adrian Liu/Derrick Ng (Canada)

Women’s Singles

1. Beiwen Zhang (USA) 2. Iris Wang (USA) 3. Michelle Li (Canada) 3. Fabiana Silva (Brazil)

Women’s Doubles

1. Jing Yu Hong/Beiwen Zhang (USA) 2. Paula B Pereira/Lohaynny Vicente (Brazil) 3. Nicole Grether/Charmaine Reid (Canada) 3. Nadianie Ouaqouaq-Bergeron/Virgine Savard (Canada)

Mixed Doubles

1. Toby Ng/Michelle Li (Canada) 2. Halim Haryanto Ho/Jing Yu Hong (USA) 3. Hendri Winarto (USA)/Joycelyn Ko (Canada) 3. Daniel Paiola/Paula B Pereira (Brazil)

Free Umpire Training @Tucson Badminton Club

The Tucson Badminton Club, Tucson Sports, and UA Badminton Sports Club will host the USA Badminton Masters Tournament during Spring Break, March 19 – 23, 2014. The club is looking for certified badminton umpires to help officiate the tournament and will offer training sessions for anyone who would like to become an official badminton umpire. As a certified umpire you can officiate any national game. Contact Richard Alexander, President of Tucson Badminton Club, at richard@badmintontucson.com to sign up for a spot. The training will consist of two sessions: Session 1 (1 hour) Covers all the badminton rules. Booklets will be distributed. Session 2 (1 hour) Covers scoring sheets and how to officiate a game. Two upcoming tournaments, Tucson Senior Games (2/1-2/2014) and Arizona State Senior Games (3/1-2/2014) will be great opportunities to practice officiating a badminton game. Tucson Badminton Club is working with Dave Carlton, the USA badminton umpire technical officer, to administer the written exam for the certification. Training sessions will most likely be on 1/17/2014 and 1/24/2014.

Pan American Badminton Championships October 24-27, 2013 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Silver for USA

XVIII Pan American Badminton Championships 2013 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic October 21-27

Even though the members of Team USA had just one and half hours of practice together after arriving in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the team bonding was the key to their success under Head Coach Zhou Lei at the Pan American Badminton Championships Team Event. Held on October 23rd, Team USA won the silver medal for a consecutive third time. Team Canada came out on top again for the eighth straight championship.

Team Event (Oct. 21-23)

Team Group B USA 5-0 Guatemala USA 5-0 Dominican Republic Team Elimination Canada

3-1

Brazil Guatemala

by Kota Morikawa

fter Team USA advanced to the elimination round by defeating Guatemala and the home team Dominican Republic, both with a score of 5-0, it played against Peru in the semifinal, yet another 5-0, remaining undefeated in all matches to advance to the finals. Canada has been a big obstacle for Team USA for more than a decade. In Mixed Doubles, US singles players Howard Shu and Eva Lee took on Toby Ng and London Olympic Women’s Doubles semi-finalist Alex Bruce of Canada. Shu and Lee had not played mixed doubles together for a long time; the pair managed to play well but lost in a tight third set. Sattawat Pongnairat, US Men’s Singles Ace, beat Sergiy Shatenko of Canada in an 1-hour-long three-set match. Pongnairat, whose illness before the tournament cost him some valuable practice time, focused on accurate returns of the shuttle to minimize the many mistakes he had made in his previous matches before the final. Even though it was the first time Coach Lei coached Pongnairat, Coach Lei and Pongnairat started to connect during team meetings, conversations and during the match.

3-2

Bye

3-1

Mexico Peru

3-0

Bye

3-0

USA

Team Elimination Round

“It helped him focus and relax and to simply just rely on his skills instead of being pressured to over achieve. With this he succeeded and won the match,” Coach Lei said. Pongnairat lost the first set 20-22, but he came back to take full control, gaining the first point for the US. In Women’s Singles, world #202 Iris Wang played hard against London Olympic Women’s Doubles semi-finalist Michelle Li but lost in a close two-set game (18-21, 17-21). Phillip Chew and Pongnairat facing a must-win situation in their Men’s Doubles in order to tie the score 2-2. Despite Chew and Pongnairat’s recent victory at the Brazil International Badminton Cup Men’s Doubles in early October, the Canadian pair Derrick Ng and Toby Ng had full control over the Americans in two-sets (21-14, 21-12) to take another gold for Canada. “I was glad to see that all the US players played their best,” Coach Lei said. “Despite having not practiced together before the tournament, these players from all around the country were able to come together to work confidently as a team under my direction.”

PERU 0-3 USA (Semifinal) MD: Cuba/Valle 18-21,17-21 Chew/Shu WS: D. Zapata 6-21,4-21 I. Wang MS: A. Corpancho 16-21,5-21 S. Pongnairat CANADA 3-1 USA (Final)

XD: Ng/Bruce MS: S. Shatenko WS: M. Li MD: Ng/Ng

21-18,13-21,21-16 22-20,17-21,14-21 21-18.21-17 21-14.21-12

Shu/Lee S. Pongnairat I. Wang Chew/Pongnairat

Individual Event (Oct. 24-27)

Men’s Singles Sattawat Pongnairat 21-14 (USA) 21-18 Humblers Heymard 21-19 (Guatemala) 21-18 Daniel Paiola 25-23 (Brazil) 21-14 Bjorn Seguin (USA)

21-19 21-17 17-21 21-6 21-16

21-15 21-17 21-14 21-15

Women’s Singles Jamie Subandhi 24-22 (USA) 21-16 Joycelyn Ko 21-15 (Canada) 21-9 Solangel Guzman 21-15 (Trinidad and Tobago) 21-17 Vibieca Beronica (Dominican Republic)

21-14 21-13 21-8 21-6

21-18 21-5 21-7 21-8

Howard Shu (USA) Rodolfo Ramirez (Guatemala) Lino Munoz (Mexico) Osleni Guerrero (Cuba) Fabiana Silva (Brazil) Nikte A. Sotomayor (Guatemala) Michelle Li (Canada) Lohaynny Vicente (Brazil)

Men’s Doubles Liu/Ng (Canada) 21-19 21-14 Arthuso/Tjong 21-9 (Brazil) 21-10 Javier/Raposo 16-21 (Dominican Republic) 21-17 Heymard/Marroquin 21-12 (Guatemala)

21-16 21-11 21-14 21-8

21-17 21-16 21-8 21-16

Jonathan/Ramirez (Guatemala) Andres/Munoz (Mexico) Li/Yakura (Canada) Cuba/Valle (Peru)

Women’s Doubles Lee/Obanana (USA) 21-14 21-11 Pereira/Vicente 16-21 (Brazil) 21-11 21-6 Gao/Li (Canada) 21-12 21-8 González/Sanchez (Dominican Republic)

21-19 21-14 21-15 21-13

21-5 21-15 21-8 21-11

Macias/Nishimura (Peru) Beronica/Saturria (Dominican Republic) Bruce/Chan (Canada) Leon/Ramos (Guatemala)

Mixed Doubles Chew/Subandhi (USA) 21-14 21-13 Ng/Bruce 21-9 (Canada) 21-14 Osborne/Gao 14-21 (Canada) 21-15 21-12 Arthuso/Silva (Brazil)

21-12 21-13 21-12 23-21

21-8 21-12 21-8 21-15

Shu/Lee (USA) Santos/Campos (Brazil) Emerick/Hoang (USA) Paiola/Pereira (Brazil)

Team USA, (back from left) Ben Hussey, Phillip Chew, Howard Shu, Sattawat Pongnairat, (front from left) Paula Lynn Obanana, Iris Wang, Head Coach Zhou Lei, Jamie Subandi, Eva Lee (Photo Courtesy of Phillip Chew) www.badmintonmonthly.com 13

Pan American Badminton Championships October 24-27, 2013 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Lee/Obanana Win First WD Title for US by Kota Morikawa

he US Women’s Doubles duo Eva Lee and Paula Lynn Obanana cruised past all opponents including London Olympic Women’s Doubles semi-finalist Alex Bruce and Michelle Li of Canada to take the first gold in the WD event for the US since 1977. The pair’s first challenge came in the semifinals against Michelle Li and three-time Pan American Champion Grace Gao. The Americans lost the first set match 16-21, but came back strong with overwhelming control to take the second and third sets (21-11, 21-6). “We started slow and didn’t get the rhythm right away. By the time we got it, it was too late in the first set,” Obanana said. “We controlled every rally of the game’s first five points. It was very important, and we kept attacking. Our defense was pretty solid in the second and third sets.” The final was against the defending champions Alex Bruce and Phyllis Chan from their arch rivals Canada. The Americans were supposed to play the same Canadian pair in the team event final if the score was a 2-2 tie. Even though the final scores of 21-15, 21-13 looks one-sided, the game was very competitive. When receiving a series of attacks from the Canadian pair, there was a breathtaking save by Obanana after she dove and received the shuttle while still lying on the court. “Our semifinal match really helped to put us into ‘tournament mode’. It’s probably because we’re so old that we need some sort of ‘shock’ to get us going,” Lee said. “Mr. (Don) Chew (coach) prepared us with a good strategy and we had played the pair earlier in the year. They had some good defense and aggressive net plays, but we were able to play our game.” In the end, the victory was the first for the US since 1977 when Pam Bristol Brady and Judianne Kelly took gold for the US Women’s Doubles.

(on the podium 1) Paula Lynn Obanana (left) and Eva Lee took first place in the Pan American Badminton Championships (photo courtesy of Eva Lee) 14 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Paula Lynn Obanana (front) and Eva Lee took gold for the first time in the Pan Am Badminton Championships. It was also the first time for the US since 1977 (Photo: Badmintonphoto)

Women’s Singles winner Michelle Li

Guerrero’s Win First for Cuba Cuba’s Osleni Guerrero became the first Cuban to win a Pan American Badminton Championship title, while Canada picked up three golds in mixed doubles and the US took home one gold in women’s doubles.

by Don Hearn

Badzine Correspondent Photographs: Badmintonphoto

O Mixed Doubles winner Alex Bruce

Both Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles winner Toby Ng of Canada

sleni Guerrero of Cuba has made a habit of beating Sattawat Pongnairat of the United States in the last year or so, but today he finally made it count in a gold medal final. Unlike last year in Peru or even earlier this month in Brazil, he wasn’t facing off against the American for the right to play a higher-ranked Asian in the final. This time, Guerrero had already marched through the entire men’s singles field, spending right around half an hour in each of his appearances on the sweltering courts of the Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, by the time he was to play Pongnairat for the Pan Am Men’s Singles title. The two men split the first two games before the Cuban took control and nailed the victory with a 21-10 finish in the decider. 3 Golds for Canadians Canadian brothers Derrick and Toby Ng did not team up as they had in the mixed team event but nonetheless, they were each able to stamp their name on an additional title in the individual event. Toby took his first international title with Olympic women’s doubles semi-finalist Alex Bruce. Ng, who got as high as world #16 with former partner Grace Gao, had previously only played in two international events in Canada with Bruce. They had a little trouble in the second game from Americans Howard Shu and Eva Lee but managed to finish it

off in two. “It’s been a long week, but I’m happy to win my first international title with Alex Bruce,” said Toby on his Facebook page. “Special thanks to Canadian coaches Jeff White and Denyse Julien and our own coaches and training partners back home!” 2012 double champion Derrick Ng was content playing in just one discipline this year. He and Adrian Liu took their second men’s doubles title in a row by beating compatriots Nyl Yakura and Kevin Li in two quick games. In contrast to Kevin Li’s misfortune, Canada’s other owner of that family name, Michelle Li, got back to the winning ways that saw her take two golds at the Pan Am Games two years ago. She ran roughshod over the women’s singles bracket and defeated Jamie Subandhi of the United States in a 25-minute final to bag the title. Alex Bruce was unable to defend her women’s doubles title with Phyllis Chan, however. Eva Lee had a chance for payback when she beat Bruce on the second opportunity, playing with partner of three years, Paula Lynn Obanana. “I did NOT play well today,” said a frustrated Phyllis Chan on her Facebook page. “I seemed to have lost my touch for badminton. Things were flying out.” Incidentally, the women’s doubles final was the very contest that was not played in Wednesday’s team final due to Canada having already won the tie 3-1.

www.badmintonmonthly.com 15

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Oct. 24-Nov. 3, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand

TAKING ON THE W

Team USA. (front from left) Team Manager Carl Khor, Aston Khor, Alena Wang, Anna Tang, Christine Yang, Cherie Chow, Head Coach Johannah Lee, Team Manager Allysa Khor. (back from left) Assistant Coach Sasha Boyarin, Alan Shekthman, Roberto Zeng, Kevin Chan, Ryan Liu, Nicholas Waller.

16 Badminton Monthly January 2014

E WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST by Kota Morikawa Photographs: Carl Khor

No easy games. The US junior players met and fought against the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best junior players from badminton powerhouse countries like China, Denmark, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand in the fierce 2013 World Junior Championships from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

www.badmintonmonthly.com 17

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Oct. 24-Nov. 3, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand

en US junior players around the nation, selected at the Junior International Trials early this year, got together to compete on Badminton World Federation’s biggest stage for junior badminton players around the world.

Playing against powerhouse Indonesia was a great experience for Team USA.

Tough and Close Group Competition The team competition started off with a four-country per group competition. The US was in the group with France, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The US had a great start when Mixed Doubles Aston Khor and Cherie Chow won the first match 21-19, 21-16 against Marie Batomene and Jordan Corvee of France. After the first win, however, the US lost four straight matches, losing to France 1-4. Girls’ Singles Anna Tang and Girls’ Doubles Cherie Chow and Christine Yang both had tight matches that went on to third sets. In the afternoon on the same day, the Team USA gained some great experience against badminton powerhouse Indonesia, the eventual runner-up for the entire event. The Americans could not win a set losing 0-5. Cherie Chow, who played Girls’ Doubles with

18 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Anna Tang said, “No doubt, we were terrified to play against them, but we gave it our all and I feel that we played well. We had nothing to lose, so we just kind of went all out and did what we could. It was such an honor to play against Indonesia, who got second in the team event.” Alan Shekhtman, who played Boys’ Singles said “It was very hard for everyone to keep up with Indonesia’s pace and precise shots. In my singles match, I felt that I could hold a rally, but I could never finish my opponent or seem to win the rally. My opponent in machine like fashion kept the rally going with consistent shots until he decided to finish me off.” The final match in the group round came in the next day against Sri Lanka. The US opened the first match with a victory by Boys’ Singles Alan Shekhtman in a three-set match. Then they lost both the Girls’ Singles (Anna Tang) and Boys’ Doubles (Aston Khor and Kevin Chan) matches, but the score became tied after a convincing victory by Cherie Chow and Christine Yang for Girls’ Doubles. Aston Khor and Cherie Chow, who had the only point won against France

(ABOVE) Alan Shekhtman (left) and Aston Khor against the Philippines’ Boys’ Doubles pair. (TOP RIGHT) Alan Shekhtman smiles after winning Boys’ Singles in the group competition against the Philippines. (RIGHT) Cherie Chow (left) and Christine Yang won the last match against the Philippines to bring the first victory for team USA.

the previous day could not bring the victory again this time in the decisive fifth match. “Cherie and Aston tried very hard to win. We should be proud,” said Carl Khor, the team manager. First Win Finally After losing all the matches in the previous two days, the US went to stage 25-32 place bracket round. The first round was against another Asian country, the Philippines. The Americans took the first two matches when Mixed Doubles Aston Khor and Anna Tang and Boys’ Singles Alan Shekhtman both won in two-set matches for a win shy of the first victory. However, the team could not win so easily. Philippines came back with two victories in both Girls’ Singles and Boys’ Doubles. The decisive match rested on Cherie

Chow and Christine Yang, winners of the 2013 U19 Girls’ Doubles Pan Am Junior Championships. The Americans prevailed in two sets (21-19, 21-14). “Winning that last point for our team was amazing because we regained hope and started to act as a team again. It was our first team win, and having it against a strong Asian country like the Philippines could not have been better,” Chow said. Competing against Spain became tough in the second round. Mixed Doubles Aston Khor and Cherie Chow brought a victory in the first match, but the rest got defeated ended in a loss with a score of 1-3. The last match for the US came Oct. 26 against Botswana. Americans took the first three matches, all lasting less than 20 minutes. The final result was 27th place.

“Some of our players possess the skills to compete against countries ranked 9-20th, but their physical condition and strength lacked what it took to accomplish consistent game play in the world level,” said the Head Coach Johanna Lee. “Players should develop their physical conditioning in a training program on a daily basis. It really affects consistency of techniques and mentality.” Coach Lee also pointed out that the US players need more exposure in international level competitions to gain mental strength. Next year’s World Junior Championships is set in April 7-18, 2014, in Malaysia. The selection of the US representatives for the tournament will be decided in the Junior International Trials to be held on Dec. 27-30 at Affinity Badminton Club in San Carlos, CA, this year. www.badmintonmonthly.com 19

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Oct. 24-Nov. 3, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand

Learning from World Class Competition Players’ Comments

Badminton Monthly asked some players who competed at the World Junior Championships (WJC) about their experience in Thailand. 1. How was your overall experience at the championships? 2. What were the differences between players you compete with in the Pan American region and players from Asia and Europe? 3. What did you learn from the tournament? Kevin Chan

1. My overall experience at WJC was great! I had a wonderful time playing against a variety of players from different countries. It was a bit of a struggle to adapt to the new environment there and playing such difficult, unique players, but it was still an inspiration and motivating to work harder for my future tournaments. 2. There is a huge power gap between the Pan American players and those who train in Asia and Europe. I can honestly say that I was overwhelmed by how fast these guys were. 3. I understood the power gap between me and the other junior players, as well as the potential I have to win against them as well.

Cherie Chow

1. World Juniors in Thailand this year was amazing. Everything from the venue, to the intense play, to making new friends–it was all an experience I’ll never forget. Not only did I learn so much more about badminton and competition, but also so much more about Thai culture. It was an honor to be able to represent the US in Junior Worlds and to compete against many elite level competitors. 2. I definitely see a level of difference between the play at the Pan Ams and at Junior Worlds with the Asian and European players. Though Asian and European players are stronger, the gap is not as huge as I thought it was. The fighting spirit and technical skill level of Asian and European players are very high; they are so fit both physically and mentally, but players in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, and the US are not too far behind either. 3. It doesn’t matter so much that we lost; what matters is what we got out of the experience. I’ve learned so much in terms of the mental game, especially not to let outside matters affect how I play. I’ve also learned not to be scared and to be confident against these players, because there is always a chance to grab that win. They aren’t as invincible as we think they are!

ing the US was interesting. Just having your shirt with USA printed on the back makes you feel as if you’re bearing the weight and pressure of making your country proud.

Ryan Liu

1. My overall experience in Thailand could be described as nothing less than enlightening. This was my first time playing in a tournament with countries from all around the globe, not just restricted to the Americas. By observing other countries play badminton, I have experienced first-hand the power gap between others and me. 2. The players in the Asian and European countries were definitely in a separate tier from us. They were fierce yet consistent in their play style, far surpassing my expectations. Their skill and control with the bird was top notch, doing what I think is impossible to do. 3. I learned that it is not the end of the world just because I have lost once. This just means that there is more room for improvement to be made. With time and effort, I hope to become better at badminton.

Alan Shekhtman

1. Overall I had a pretty good experience at the World Junior Championships. I once again saw a high level from juniors across the globe. I had some good matches with strong players that taught me a lot about my game and where it needs to be. 2. It’s very different competing against players from Europe and Asia when compared to playing against players from the Pan Am region. Generally speaking, Europe and Asia have stronger level players than those from the Pan Am region. While there are many good players from North and South America, Europe and Asia have a

Aston Khor

1. It was an incredible experience. I do well in the local circuit but coming here is a whole different game. The level there was unbelievable and I didn’t come expecting much. Just to learn from these other players from other countries. Seeing so many different countries and meeting many of them was really humbling. Even communicating with them was tough because of the language barrier. Although it’s amazing to think that so many people from so many different cultures and places can come together and play the same sport with the same rules and have competitive matches. Represent20 Badminton Monthly January 2014

2013 Women’s Singles champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand was at the tournament signing autographs and taking photos. Several US players enjoyed posing for photos with her.

Inside of Hua Mark Stadium. The flags from participating countries on display around the arena.

BWF World Junior Championships 2013 Bangkok, Thailand October 23 - November 3

Team Event (Oct.23-27)

Team Group X USA 1-4 France USA 0-5 Indonesia USA 2-3 Sri Lanka Play Off Group X USA 3-2 Philippines

much greater variety of strong players. Strong players from Asia and Europe are stronger in nearly all aspects of the sport. 3. From each loss I learned a different thing. For example, from my match against a Danish player, I learned that it is important to always take the net early regardless of my opponent’s good variety at the net.

Anna Tang

1. World Juniors was such an incredible trip and definitely an unforgettable experience. Even though I had way too much work to catch up on in the few days I got back, this trip was worth it. 2. Players from Asia and Europe are definitely at a higher level of competition both mentally and physically compared to Pan American players. Asian and European players have much more persistence and determination, as well as spirit and confidence. They exude a killer confidence that really shows through in their expression, posture, and walk. 3. From my losses I realized that I had to better my physical stamina by a lot because the other countries had significant physical advantage, in both build, size, and stamina. I also realized that I’m not that much worse than some of the top players in the world, I just need to work on my attitude on the court—believe in myself and fight for every last point.

Nicholas Waller

1. Overall, I thought that WJC was an amazing experience and an amazing chance to compete with players who are playing close to the highest level of badminton. It was a little nerve racking to play against these players at first, but I was able to calm myself down and gain confidence as my match went on. In the end, I am disappointed that I lost first round, but it was a good match, and it is nice to know that I am competitive with some of the people at this tournament. 2. One of the biggest differences I noticed was that the other players were physically stronger and faster. The US players have similar shots, but they do not put enough pressure on the opponents from other countries. 3. I learned that I need to practice adjusting to different gyms and that I still have to get comfortable playing my game in tournaments and not stressing. On the bright side I also learned that I am competitive with some of the players.

Christine Yang

1. It was definitely a lot different than the other tournaments I’ve played. The overall atmosphere is much more professional and everyone there is the best in their country, so you know you’re at one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. 2. The Asian and European players are much stronger and have much better skills. With these players, you can expect a tough game from every country. On the other hand, during the Pan Ams, the US usually dominates in every category so we have lower expectations for our opponents. 3. In the team event, I learned the true value of cooperation and team work. If we win, it is because we worked as a team and supported each other and managed to get three points. If we lost, it wouldn’t be a single person’s fault because we would have needed to lose three games. From the individual events, I began to recognize the value of a single point. At high level tournaments like this, we don’t really expect to win. We do, however, try to fight for every point to prove to the others that we can be just as good as any other player at the tournament.

Final Stage 25-28 USA 1-3 Spain USA 3-0 Botswana

Final Result 1. Korea 2. Indonesia 3. China 4. Japan 27. USA

Individual Event (Oct.29-Nov.3) Men’s Singles Ihsan M. Mustofa 21-10 (Indonesia) 21-8 Pannawit Thongnuam 21-18 (Thailand) 13-21 21-16 Kwang Hee Heo 21-16 (Korea) 21-13 Fabian Roth

11-21 21-13 21-10 21-11 21-12

21-12 21-16 22-20 21-18

(Germany)

Tzu Wei Wang (Chinese Taipei) Joo Ven Soong (Malaysia) Jun Peng Zhao (China) Christie Jonatan (Indonesia)

Women’s Singles Aya Ohori 17-21 (Japan) 21-16 Xiaoyu Liang 21-14 21-16 (Singapore) 21-17 Bing Jiao He 18-21 (China) 21-13 Stefani Stoeva 23-21 (Bulgaria)

21-12 9-21 21-18 21-11 21-13

21-11 21-19 21-10 21-8

Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) Hyo Min Kim (Korea) B. Ongbumrungpan (Thailand) Hana Ramadhini (Indonesia)

Men’s Doubles Junhui/Yuchen (China) 21-14 21-18 Alfian/Saputra 21-10 (Indonesia) 21-17 Tien/Wang 21-18 (Chinese Taipei) 15-21 Devadass/Ong 21-19 (Malaysia)

21-14 23-21 14-21 21-13 22-20

21-11 21-13 23-21 24-22

Choi/Seo (Korea) Chang/Liao (Chinese Taipei) Huang/Zheng (China) Adiartama/Sukamuljo (Indonesia)

Women’s Doubles Huang/Jia (China) 21-19 21-16 Hoshi/Sakuramoto 22-20 (Japan) 16-21 22-20 Chae/Kim (Korea) 21-8 21-15 Finne-Ipsen/Hansen (Denmark)

21-16 10-21 21-13 21-19 21-15

21-11 21-17 21-13 21-4

Lam/Supajirakul (Thailand) Sari/Setyana (Indonesia) Higashino/Matsuda (Japan) Chen/He (China)

Mixed Doubles Choi/Chae (Korea) 21-9 22-20 Lee/Wen 21-13 (Chinese Taipei) 21-11 Huang/Chen 21-18 (China) 21-11 Dechapol/Supajirakul (Thailand)

21-12 21-6 21-18 20-22 23-21

6-21 21-17 21-19 21-13 21-17

Sukamuljo/Mahmudin (Indonesia) Chairojkanjana/Lam (Thailand) Yuchen/Huang (China) Hee/Chua (Singapore)

Match overview of US Players

First Round

MS: M. Sorensen(DEN) 21-15,21-9 A. Shekhtman MS: A. George(IND) 21-17,21-14 N. Waller MS: D. Yao(CAN) 22-24,21-11,22-20 A. Khor WS: Jeon I Jun(KOR) 21-14,21-15 Christine Yang WS: S. Stoeva(BUL) 21-15,21-10 C. Chow WS: B. Ongbumrungpan(THA) 21-2,21-10 A. Tang MD: Chung/Lee(HKG) 21-15,22-20 Khor/Shekhtman MD: Hall/Neil(SCO) 21-10,21-10 Liu/Zeng WD: Miyaura/Nagahara(JAN) 21-4,21-8 Tang/Wang WD: Fruergaard/Nielsen(DEN) 21-16,21-13 Chow/Yang XD: Ravuri/Ram(IND) 21-11,21-8 Zeng/Wang XD: Roth/Karnott(GER) 17-21,21-14,21-10 Khor/Tang XD: Tan/Goh(MAL) 21-7,21-7 Chan/Yang

www.badmintonmonthly.com 21

DENMARK OPEN (BWF Super Series) October 15-20, 2013 Odense V, Denmark

China Dominates in Denmark They came, they played, and once again China dominated proceedings in the finals of yet another Superseries Premier event. The Chinese team had representation in four of the five Denmark Open finals and in true Chinese style claimed the top step of the podium in all four.

by Mark Phelan

Badzine Writer Photographs: Badmintonphoto

n truth, Team China was awesome that week as it reasserted its dominance of the sport after a lackluster World Championships on home soil back in August. Wang Yihan set the tone for the Chinese in the afternoon’s play as yet again the gutsy Chinese came back from a game down and an interval deficit in the second to claim the Women’s Singles title in Odense. Wang Yihan even struggled in the third game against Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun but her never-say-die attitude proved once again to be a major factor in yet another success for the steely Chinese. Trailing 13-17 it looked like the match was there for the Korean to win but Wang took 7 of the next 8 points to move to championship point and even though Sung steadied the ship to level 20-20, Wang was now riding the crest of a wave and took the match 22-20 to the delight of Coach Zhang Ning. “It was a really tough match but even though I’m tired, I show a lot of strength,” said Wang Yihan after the match. “I feel very comfortable playing here in the Danish arena and I have won here before, and it helped me that I could hear the crowd cheering for me. “Everyone wishes to play games like these. We both played on a really high level. That’s why it’s even more satisfying winning.”

Women’s Singles winner Yihan Wang of China

22 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Chen Long defeats defending champion Lee Chong Wei had come into the final on the back of two tough three-game matches at quarter and semi-final stages. The world number one had certainly ridden his luck this week in Odense but that luck ran out in today’s final as the number two seed Chen Long stormed to victory in two games. The fact that the match only lasted two games but extended to 68 minutes highlights the level of intensity throughout and the crowd gasped and groaned as many rallies extended over 25 shots. In the end, even a spirited fight back by the

Men’s Singles winner Long Chen of China

Malaysian was not enough as Chen Long converted his one and only match point to grab the Denmark Open Superseries Premier title. “I am in good shape and every match against Chong Wei is a learning process for me as he is such an iconic player in badminton,” said Chen after his victory. Back-to-back for Bao and Tang The new partnership of Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua went back-to-back this afternoon adding the Denmark Open title to the Dutch Open they won last week in Almere. The Women’s Doubles was Denmark’s only shot at glory on finals day as Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen stood in opposition to the Chinese but proved to be no real match to Bao and Tang with the younger Chinese in the part-

Men’s Doubles winners Yoo Yeon Seong (left) and Lee Yong Dae of Korea

nership outstanding. Bao is certainly a player for the long term for China. “This was an unexpected success for us today and right now we are not sure where this partnership will go for the future,” said the Chinese pair immediately after their success.

Yong Dae as the new duo won in two games, defeating World Champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan from Indonesia.

Mixed, Men’s Doubles Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei rounded off the excellent day for China by lifting the Mixed Doubles crown and in the only non-Chinese dominated match, Korea’s Yoo Yeon Seong once again took the Denmark Open Men’s Doubles crown in a brand new pairing. Last year, it was Yoo with Shin Baek Cheol finding success in their first ever tournament and today the Korean team’s elder statesman had a similar initiation with Lee

Odense V, Denmark October 15-20, 2013

Women’s Doubles winners Bao Yixin (left) and Tang Jinhua of China

DENMARK OPEN Winners Men’s Singles 1. Long Chen (China) 2. Chong Wei Lee (Malaysia) 3. Pengyu Du (China) 3. Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Thailand)

Men’s Doubles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Dae/Seong (Korea) Ahsan/Setiawan (Indonesia) Endo/Hayakawa (Japan) Boe/Mogensen (Denmark)

1. 2. 3. 3.

Yihan Wang (China) Ji Hyun Sung (Korea) Shixian Wang (China) Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)

1. 2. 3. 3.

Bao/Tang (China) Pedersen/Rytter (Denmark) Matsutomo/Takahashi (Japan) Kakiiwa/Maeda (Japan)

1. 2. 3. 3.

Zhang/Zhao (China) Ahmad/Natsir (Indonesia) Nielsen/Pedersen (Denmark) Xu/Ma (China)

Women’s Singles

Women’s Doubles

Mixed Doubles

www.badmintonmonthly.com 23

FRENCH OPEN October 22-27, 2013 Paris, France

Merci, Jan! Paris’s new star Jan O Jorgensen cleverly conquered his second Superseries event, beating Japan’s Kenichi Tago, while Wang Shixian, with more of the beautiful shots she’d displayed all week, grabbed the Yonex French Open Superseries women’s singles title.

by Tarek Hafi and Thomas Piauley Badzine Writer Photographs: Badmintonphoto

t was all a very tactical game played by both Jan O Jorgensen and Kenichi Tago. Both players were playing cautiously and waiting the other to commit an error. A smart game like this implies long rallies and Tago kept pushing the Dane to the rear of the court, waiting for the attack, while Jorgensen replied with well-controlled drop shots. The first game was a technical delight for the crowd, with majestic slices from Kenichi Tago. However, it was not sufficient for the Japanese ace to claim the first game. There was a short-lived moment of joy for Tago, who thought he had climbed back level when, at 19-20, a smash called in by the line-judge was immediately overruled by the umpire, giving the first game to Jan O Jorgensen 21-19. Denmark’s top player was definitely not willing to let it go as he directly put the pressure on Kenichi Tago in the second game, before switching back to his cautious mode, playing his Japanese adversary’s game, waiting for the latter to commit the error first. The Dane erased two game points, and the drama started at 20-20. A mind battle ensued that was almost impossible for the crowd to bear, but before long, it ended with a shuttle way out from Kenichi Tago giving Jorgensen the 23-21 win and crucifying Tago’s dream of holding the Parisian trophy as his first Superseries success. Tago, incidentally, has a lock on the Mr. Runner-up title, as he has now been to six Superseries finals and is still waiting to convert. “Winning here is quite a shock for me,” confessed the delighted Dane after his match. “After I missed the final at the China Masters, I said to myself I must be in a final before the end of the year and here I am. I won. It’s such a strange feeling to be on the highest step.” Immediately upon winning his match point, Jan O Jorgensen treated the public to some dance steps on the court.

Men’s Singles winner Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark

24 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Wang is back! Wang Shixian probably had a lot on her mind before coming to play her European tour.

Women’s Singles winner Wang Shixian of China

China took first and second in Mixed Doubles podium. (From left) second place winners Jin Ma, Chen Xu, winners Nan Zhang, Yunlei Zhao

Men’s Doubles winners Markis Kido (front) and Gideon Markus Fernaldi

China’s women’s singles supremacy has been highly contested for several months, and the world’s #7 came with the aim of re-establishing its supremacy, especially after some of her compatriots pulled out of the tournament, including top seed Li Xuerui, who skipped the Paris meet because of skin allergies. Wang Shixian played the perfect tournament, leaving no game to any of her opponents, sweeping away Ratchanok Intanon and Bae Yeon Ju on her road to the final. She played out the same scenario in her final match against Porntip Buranaprasertsuk from Thailand, despite the latter showing great consistency and drive. The excellent defensive game and net play by the Thai ace were not sufficient to overcome the talented Chinese. A one-way match was offered by the Chinese ladies in the Women’s Doubles

final, which eventually saw Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua come out as the 2013 edition winners. The youngsters didn’t have to put much effort to overcome their Olympic champion training partners, as straight games and forty-five minutes were all that were necessary to lay hold of the Superseries trophy and the beautiful bouquet made of shuttles. One more for Zhang and Zhao, a premier for Kido and Fernaldi Besides the Women’s Doubles, the finals match-up at the French Open included another all-Chinese contest, in the Mixed Doubles, of course. It was a match-up as familiar as it was prestigious indeed, with world #1 Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei facing their world #3 training partners Xu Chen and Ma Jin. The match rapidly caught the crowd’s attention, displaying impressive play. The most notable player on court was decidedly Xu Chen, who showed a very aerial style, hitting hard and making brutal offensive plays. Despite his and Ma Jin’s efforts to push Zhao Yunlei to the back of the court and disorganize their opponents, the Olympic champions took the opener after a thrilling 2826 game. The second game didn’t disappoint

either as the athletes displayed great combinations and an impression of fluidity that entertained the crowd. The favored couple Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei scored an 11th victory in a row against their compatriots, while also bagging their fourth straight Superseries title. Finally, the last match of the day at the Coubertin hall also brought its share of nervous rallies, with Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong facing Indonesia’s Markis Kido and Gideon Markus Fernaldi. As usual, the Malaysians displayed their very defensive game, trying to take the advantage at the net to make use of Koo Kien Keat’s frontcourt abilities. But that wasn’t enough as Markis and Gideon, who were playing just their fifth international tournament together, posted a few impressive series of hard hits, shouting louder every time. In the end, it was the Indonesians who succeeded in handing Koo and Tan a second runner-up finish at the French Open to their list of lost finals. “We’re very happy, because we started from the qualification round,” Fernaldi told Badzine after the pairs had received their prizes. “I was a bit nervous because it was my first time in the final of a Superseries.”

FRENCH OPEN Paris, France October 22-27, 2013 Winners Men’s Singles

1. Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) 2. Kenichi Tago (Japan) 3. Chong Wei Lee (Malaysia) 4. Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Thailand)

Men’s Doubles 1. 2. 3. 4.

Fernaldi/Kido (Indonesia) Koo/Tan (Malaysia) Hoon/Tan (Malaysia) Liu/Qui (China)

Women’s Singles 1. Shixian Wang (China) 2. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Thailand) 3. Eriko Hirose (Japan) 4. Yeon Ju Bae (Korea)

Women’s Doubles 1. 2. 3. 4.

Bao/Tang (China) Tian/Zhao (China) Maheswari/Polii (Indonesia) Jang/Kim (Korea)

Mixed Doubles 1. Zhang/Zhao (China) 2. Xu/Ma (China) 3. Adcock/White (England) 4. Prapakamol/Thoungthongkam (Thailand)

www.badmintonmonthly.com 25

CHINA OPEN (BWF Super Series) November 12-17, 2013 SHANGHAI, China

World Champions Add to Collection World Champions Tontowi Ahmad/ Lilyana Natsir and Wang/Yu won their fifth and sixth titles of the year respectively at the 2013 Victor China Open Superseries Premier. The players competed not only for the money and glory, but also for the ranking points that will let them make the crucial leap up the rankings to qualify for the Superseries finals.

by Kira Rin

Badzine Writer Photographs: Badmintonphoto

Women’s Singles winner Xuerui Li of China

26 Badminton Monthly January 2014

owever, the mixed and women’s doubles, where the World Champions were on hand to add to their title collections, nothing was on the line but prizes and glory, as Finals berths for three of those finalists were already secure with the fourth a newly reunited pair that is out of the running. The Indonesian pair of Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir continued their winning streak, strategically picking at their opponents’ defenses and striking at open spots swiftly, forcing many errors from the Danes Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen. Although the Danes attempted to come back from a 13-point difference in the first game, they only managed three points before sending an unlucky shot out. Furious at their result of their first game, Joachim channeled his rage into his strokes, hitting with pure fury, almost in a manner reminiscent of Cu Chulainn, a famous berserker of old European mythology. Nothing could cool the fury of the Danes, as they threw their shots with almost the lethality of enchanted spear Gae Bulg, leaving the shocked Indonesians with only five points in Game 2. Hunger for victory saw both pairs step into the deciding game with a pace that is more commonly seen at men’s doubles. Getting over the shock, the Indonesians regained their composure to continue their attacks. Joachim drew on his remaining fury to pull some aggressive rallies, but the Danes were able to only level the game at times, as Lilyana stepped in to join the smashing attacks, bringing the title south. World number 1 pair Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang systematically dismantled Bao Yixin and Zhong Qianxin in a showcase of their skills at

the top. In a match spanning only 31 minutes, the top cats showed their dominance in their skills, conceding only 20 points in total. Lee returns, Li defends For Hoon Thien How and Lee Yong Dae, this is their first final appearance together since their finals debut at 2004 World Junior Championships. Back then, Hoon came out on top with his then partner, Tan Boong Heong, in a three-game victory over Lee Yong Dae and Jung Young. Hoon has also become one of the few players to hold a winning record against Yong Dae over the course of years and with different partners. However, today was not the case, as the Koreans exhibited superb defense to wear out the strings of the Malaysians. In addition to the defense, both Yoo and Lee targeted Tan Wee Kiong, wearing down his defense bit by bit, and also mentally pressuring Hoon into trying to smash in order to turn the game around. Such physical offensive and mental pressure saw the Koreans take the match in an almost direct reversal of their French Open fortunes, and enabling Lee Yong Dae to notch one match up toward levelling that career head-to-head record with Hoon. Patience is a virtue, and for Wang Shixian, it was an integral part of her playing style, as she utilized high lifts and defensive clears to keep the rallies going and kept a watchful eye for an opportunity to strike in her women’s singles final against Li Xuerui. In order to utilize such defensive play, a long reach is also required, as can be seen from Wang Shixian holding her racquet at the very end of the handle. Li Xuerui sought to undermine the defensive stratagem by playing steep drops and quick pushes to the backcourt. Luck had a heavy hand in the match, as points and games were exchanged over the smallest of mistakes, from hitting the shot a tad too high, to hitting the shuttle wide. Stamina also played a factor as Wang struggled to keep pace with the speed dictated by Xuerui, once having her racquet fly away from her due to a weakened grip. Lady luck smiled on Xuerui as she won the final game by letting a shot fly out with the

Mixed Doubles winners Tontowi Ahmad (behind) and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia

narrowest of margins. Wang Zhengming found himself playing the defensive wall called Chen Long. However, Chen was off to a slow start, committing a number of tactical errors that saw either the shuttle hitting the net or Wang hitting down an opportune shot into an open space. Needless to say, the great dragon gradually bared his fangs and claws, coming back from behind to even the score many times. Alas it was too late for the first game, with Chen falling into the ground twice at his attempts to retrieve the game point. Chen was now well prepared for what Wang threw at him. Pressured by the barrage of smashes and offensive shots from Chen, Wang was forced onto the defensive, and was able to only pull off a few attacking rallies of his own. Chen proved to be the more experienced of the duo, as he almost easily negated

the shots, even winning the final match point from a point blank defense of a net kill.

CHINA OPEN

Shanghai, China November 12-17, 2013 Winners Men’s Singles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Long Chen (China) Zhengming Wang (China) Kento Momota (Japan) Wei Feng Chong (Malaysia)

Men’s Doubles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Dae/Seong (Korea) How/Kiong (Malaysia) Endo/Hayakawa (Japan) Yun/Biao (China)

Women’s Singles 1. Xuerui Li (China) 2. Shixian Wang (China) 3. Li Han (China) 3. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Thailand)

Women’s Doubles

Men’s Doubles winners Hoon Thien How (left) and Lee Yong Dae of Korea

1. Wang/Yu (China) 2. Bao/Zhong (China) 3. Tian/Zhao (China) 3. Aroonkesorn/Voravichitchaikul (Thailand)

Mixed Doubles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Ahmad/Natsir (Indonesia) Nielsen/Pedersen (Denmark) Zhang/Zhao (China) Jung/Young (Korea)

Men’s Singles winner Long Chen of China

www.badmintonmonthly.com 27

HONG KONG OPEN (BWF Super Series) November 19-24, 2013 HONG KONG

First English Title in SP The Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open became not only England’s first Superseries title in four years but also the first international title for newlyweds Chris and Gabrielle Adcock.

by Adrian Kok

Badzine Writer Photographs: Badmintonphoto

r. and Mrs. Chris Adcock and Gabrielle White – or now officially Mr. and Mrs. Adcock – were the only representatives in the Finals from the European continent. The English couple quashed the dream of the younger Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin, who were making their first appearance in an international final since they won the World Junior title in 2010. Liu and Bao found it difficult to maintain their defensive play in the first game. The huge gap in score between the English and the Chinese went down to the relentless attacks by the Brits. Chris, who is known to be a powerful smasher, took every opportunity to attack and created openings for his wife to nail the shuttle. However, the Chinese fought back in the second game after some sound advice from their coach. Though the Brits were attacking hard, they were forced to move around the court more because of the China’s defensive strategy. Every defensive shot made by the Chinese put the English pair out of position and created chances from them to attack. Nevertheless, that was not enough to put an end to the determination of the Adcocks. They fought hard to erase five straight game points and finally won the match in straight games. They are the first pair in the last four years to win a Superseries title for England. “This is something we’ve worked for and it feels amazing,” said Gabrielle White. “Growing up as youngsters, this is what we were aiming at – a title in a Superseries. Now the time has come and it just feels unreal.” Wang vs. Wang They see each other on court everyday as they train together Wang Shixian is not just her opponent in today’s final but she is also a fellow team mate. The official head-to-head record favored the lanky Wang Yihan, who had won seven of the previous nine matches against her team-mate. The first two games had a lot of dull moments as neither shuttler had the fiery pace and attacking tenacity. It all changed in the rubber game when both players took their game up a notch and Chris Adcock (behind) and Gabrielle White took first gold in Superseries for England in 4 years

28 Badminton Monthly January 2014

looked ready to battle all-out. The pace of the game was faster with several fast drive shots coupled with quicker movements. Yihan injected more attacking pace, which proved difficult for Shixian, who was scrambling to retrieve her compatriot’s smashes and Yihan won the deciding game by a comfortable margin. “I got three titles this year. That’s not bad,” said Wang Yihan, whose win was not enough to qualify her for the Superseries Finals. New Pair Takes Third of Four The Men’s Doubles is the second event of the day to have members of the same team on either side of the net. Kim Ki Jung and Kim Sa Rang, who are currently world ranked seventh in the world, were fired up in the first game and held nothing back. Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong didn’t have an answer to the attacks and quick movement of their opponents. In the end, it was the new pair who took

their third Superseries titles in just four attempts since their partnership began. “This is a good victory for us. It’s always difficult to play against our own compatriots,” said Lee Yong Dae. “As now a senior player in the team, I feel like there is more pressure somehow than when I was the younger one in the team, so now, I just train harder to make up for it.” Next Generation The fourth event of the day, was another all-Chinese battle between two of the country’s new generation of women’s doubles players. Bao Yixin and Ou Dongni may have been partners when they won the World Junior title in 2010 but since then, Bao and Tang Jinhua, losing finalist in said junior championship, have gotten far more international experience than Ou and Tang Yuanting. Even so, Ou and Tang didn’t give up and bravely took on their senior opponents, even finishing victorious in the first game. How-

ever, they began to lose focus in the second game, and by the decider, it was clear that Bao and Tang were calm and collected. They continued to attack persistently and gave no space for a counter attack. The younger players lost but they were all smiles as they knew that this was a good lesson learned. Dominance One of the most anticipated matches of the day gave fans a chance to see Men’s Singles world #1 Lee Chong Wei in action. Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who has been combating injury had put on stunning performances all week to reach the Final. The 31-year-old Malaysian played with caution the first eight points in the match as he was nursing an injury. After getting warmed up, though, Chong Wei wasted no time smashing his way to reach the 21 point mark. Sony tried everything he could to retrieve the shots but was clearly out-maneuvered. In the second game, Chong Wei began to stamp his dominance by showcasing his speed and agility on court. Although Sony won several points from the net, Lee’s smashes were pin-point sharp and often positioned away from Sony’s racket. The match ended in 34 minutes with Chong Wei victorious.

HONG KONG OPEN Hong Kong November 19-24, 2013 Winners Men’s Singles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Chong Wei Lee (Malaysia) Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Indonesia) Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand) Tommy Sugiarto (Indonesia)

1. 2. 3. 3.

Dae/Seong (Korea) Jung/Rang (Korea) Ahsan/Setiawan (Indonesia) Adcock/Ellis (England)

Men’s Doubles The US Women’s Doubles pair Paula Lynn Obanana (left) and Eva Lee lost in their first round against Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao of Singapore (12-21, 23-21, 21-7)

Women’s Singles 1. Yihan Wang (China) 2. Shixian Wang (China) 3. Minatsu Mitani (Japan) 3. Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Thailand)

Women’s Doubles 1. 2. 3. 3.

Bao/Tang (China) Ou/Tang (China) Matsutomo/Takahashi (Japan) Pedersen/Juhl (Denmark)

1. 2. 3. 3.

Adcock/White (England) Liu/Bao (China) Zhang/Zhao (China) Lee/Chau (Hong Kong)

Mixed Doubles

Men’s Doubles winners Yoo Yeon Seong (right) and Lee Yong Dae of Korea

Men’s Singles winner Chong Wei Lee of Malaysia dominated the Final

www.badmintonmonthly.com 29

TECHNICAL FEATURE

Doubles - Serve Return

EFFECTIVE SERVE RETURN OPTIONS

5 3 1

erve return in doubles is very important as it dictates how the rest of the rally will play out. Jing Yu Hong (Kate) continues her lesson from Issue 1 on effective serve returns to gain an advantage over your opponent. Kate is a former Chinese National Team Member and she is currently coaching at the Eastbay Badminton Association in Emeryville, California.

Lesson by

Jing Yu Hong (Kate) from East Bay Badminton Association

6 4 2

6 7

Play a net shot Play a “half court” shot down the sidelines (between front and back player) Push to the sides of the back court Push to the body of the player in the backcourt for detail see page 32.

Jing Yu (Kate) Hong (coach)

A former Chinese Junior National Team member and 2013 USA International Women’s Doubles winner

Sarah Chan (demonstrator)

2008 USAB Junior Nationals U19 Mixed Doubles champion, U19 Girls Singles runner-up 2013 USAB National Collegiate Badminton Championships - Mixed Doubles champion.

Adrian Pan (demonstrator)

2010 USAB Junior Nationals U19 Mixed Doubles runner-up. 2010 and 2011 UC Berkeley Smashapalooza AMD champion. 2012 US Adult Nationals Men’s Doubles 5th place.

Nghia Tran (demonstrator)

Helped UC Berkeley Badminton Team win Collegiate Nationals for 3 years. Placed fourth in the Collegiate Nationals for singles and third for doubles.

TECHNICAL FEATURE

Doubles - Serve Return Short Serve Return

Types of Returns

1 2

Net shot

Make sure that your opponent is not waiting for your net shot in front. Hitting the shuttle to either side is recommended and anticipate the net shot return, so that you may be able to get a net-kill.

3 4

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Half Courtâ&#x20AC;? Shot Down the Sidelines

Sides of the Back Court

In a situation where you are able to catch the serve at its highest point, you have a choice to push hard on the shuttle towards the back. Either flat or angled downward, or a high speed shot to the side of the backcourt since returning shots have limited options. 7

On the Body of the Back Court Player

This might surprise you. Why on the body of the player in the back court? Since most of the returns go to the sides, this type of unexpected return to the middle can be used only a few times during the game. After hitting the shuttle to the middle, make sure to anticipate the return. It might come right back in the middle. 32 Badminton Monthly January 2014

VE SER

5 6

T HOR

(between front and back players) If you played this correctly, it can be an effective shot to confuse your opponents as to who should catch the shot. If the shot got passed the front player going downward, the back player is forced to play a drop, a lift (a shot from down to up), or at best a drive in order to stay on the offense.

S E N ON RV TUR SE T RE RT SHO HO NET WS

The key to a high quality serve return on a short serve is to catch the shuttle at its highest point (if possible) during its flight. This way the shot can be played downward, which in turn will gain an advantage right from the start as a receiver. In a situation where the short serve is good and you cannot catch the shuttle at its highest point, pushing or lifting to the backcourt towards the sides can be an option. VE R SE As your opponent serves, T bend both legs to get ready OR to push forward H S GH I H M SH IDD OR LE T HIG SE H RV E

Lesson by

Jing Yu Hong (Kate) from East Bay Badminton Association

Right foot steps forward to catch the shuttle at the highest point possible. Jump forward if necessary.

Keep your racket up.

Catch the shuttle at its highest point and push the shuttle down.

Keep your racket up.

Try to hit the shuttle as flat as possible.

Focus on racket control.

Make sure that your opponent is not waiting for the net return.

Right foot steps forward.

Control the net shot to the side where your opponent isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t anticipating.

www.badmintonmonthly.com 33

Long Serve Return

Slower High Serves: Try to take advantage and attack either the middle or toward the sides.

Out of Position High Quality Long Serves: Instead of trying to attack, just return with a high clear, which gives you and your partner enough time to get set in a side by side defensive formation.

TECHNICAL FEATURE

Doubles - Serve Return

Advance Option!

Left Foot forward

On Short Serves: Sometimes you can step your left foot forward to hit the shot. This way, you move faster without having to bring your right foot all the way from the back.

34 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Lesson by

Jing Yu Hong (Kate) from East Bay Badminton Association

Push your left foot and quickly shuffle backwards.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to turn your body while you shuffle and prepare for the jump.

Jump using your right foot to catch the shuttle high and attack if possible, otherwise hit a clear.

Land on the right foot.

Push your left foot and quickly shuffle backwards.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to turn your body while you shuffle and prepare for the jump.

Jump using your right foot to catch the shuttle high and attack if possible, otherwise hit a clear.

Land on the left foot.

www.badmintonmonthly.com 35

Christiannaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Athletic Edge

Stretch of the Month

Hardworking

Quads

by Christianna Aronstam Photograph: Derick Santos

uadriceps, the major muscle group in the front of your thigh, are some of the most powerful muscles in the body. You use them for all the movements on the badminton court: running, jumping, lunging, and squatting. The more you use them, the shorter they get, the more your risk of injury increases. Often the risk is even higher if there are differences in the strength and flexibility between quadriceps and hamstrings. After a hard practice, where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used your quadriceps intensely, most people tend to sit down, which causes the upper quadriceps and hip flexors to stay in a shortened state for prolonged periods of time. When your hip flexors and upper quads get tight, they start to pull on your pelvis and hips, which can cause major issues ranging from lower back pain, to hip pain, knee injuries, and ankle injuries. All muscles work together, if one group develops problems and imbalances, very soon other muscle groups will follow. So, you should stretch out your quads for at least 10 minutes after activity that gives your thighs a workout. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to stretch these muscles, including these five.

about the Instructor

Christianna Aronstam Christianna is a founder and CEO of Athletic Edge, one of the premier massage therapy groups in California. Since 2006, Athletic Edge has advanced the application of massage therapy to complement the treatments of orthopedic doctors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers from all over the West Coast to help injured clients and athletes reach their full potential. Christiannaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion is to keep people healthy, happy, and performing at their best during every stage of life, be they recreational athlete or Olympian. She understands the many intricacies associated with individuals who may be competing, training, recovering, or simply seeking a more satisfying level of physical fitness.

Christianna’s Athletic Edge Frog Stretch

The frog stretches out the front of your thighs, but it will also give you a nice stretch in the chest and shoulders. Lie on your stomach and prop your torso up with your elbows. Bend both knees and reach your hands back to hold on to your feet. Turn your fingers so they are pointing in the same direction as your toes, and lift your elbows up so they’re pointing toward the ceiling. Lift your chest as high as you can. If you experience pain in the knee, don’t press your foot down as hard, or do one side at a time. Stay in this position for five deep breaths.

Kneeling Quad Stretch

For a slightly different effect from the standing and reclined stretches, this kneeling quad stretch loosens the muscles right above your knee especially well. Start off in a high lunge position, with your right foot forward. Then, slowly drop your left knee to the ground. Take a few moments to find balance, and once you’re stabilized, with your left arm, reach back for your toes on your left foot. Hold for 30 seconds. Slowly release your hold on your left foot. Come back to the high lunge position, then switch sides with your left foot forward. Perform this move on your right quad. If you experience pain in the knee, don’t press your foot down as hard, or do one side at a time. Stay in this position for five deep breaths.

38 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Stretch of the Month

Pigeon Position

This yoga position is challenging but great for stretching your quads, opening your hips, and giving you a great spinal twist. Begin in Downward Dog. Bring your right knee forward between your hands and come into the Pigeon Position. Rest your right hand beside your right shin and bend your left knee. Reach for your left foot with your left hand and work on gently pressing the sole of your left foot down in the direction of your left hip. Now place your right hand on the top of your left foot and twist to the left, wrapping your left hand around your lower back. If you can, grab onto your upper right thigh in front of your hip. Use your hands to press into your body and get you deeper into the twist. Stay here for five or more breaths, and then release your hands and straighten out your left leg. Twist your body back towards the right and plant your palms on either side of your right knee. Step your right leg back and come into Downward Dog for one complete breath. Then bring your left knee forward in between your hands and do this pose on the other side.

Side Lying Quad Stretch

This is a great stretch if you have knee issues or if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather recline than stand up. Lie down on one side and prop your head up with your hand. Pull your foot toward your butt; bend your bottom knee if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having trouble staying steady. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.

www.badmintonmonthly.com 39

Christiannaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Athletic Edge

Stretch of the Month

Standing Quad Stretch

This basic quad stretch can be done anytime, anywhere. Stand on one leg with your knees touching. If you need to, grab hold of a chair or wall for support. Grab your left foot with your left hand and pull toward your butt. Do your best to keep your chest upright, and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry about how close your foot is to your butt. Keep your focus on getting a good stretch in your quad. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then stretch the other leg.

40 Badminton Monthly January 2014

JUNIOR PLAYER SPOTLIGHT ll be i W “I the n i #1 ld!” r o W

Andrew Yuan (9) Starting Age: 7 Trains at: New Jersey Badminton Club (Montville, NJ) Andrew Yuan practices badminton five days a week hoping, someday, to become #1 in the world. He was the winner of the 2013 New Jersey Junior Open Super Regional in Boy’s U11 singles and doubles, and runner-up in U13 mixed doubles. (photo courtesy of Jing Yuan)

How did you start playing badminton? I started playing badminton because my dad introduced me to this new sport. It was really fun hitting the birdie. After a while, I started to love playing badminton so I trained and that’s how it started. How many days do you practice? Five days a week for 1 and a half hours. Do you practice extra at home? I practice a racquet grip with a metal object at the top to increase my strength. What part of badminton do you like? Netting and defense. What is your favorite shot? Dropping of course, because I don’t have a lot of power. Which event do you like the most? Singles, doubles, or mixed? I like singles more because

my style of play is controlling the front. In singles I control the front better. What’s the best thing about being a badminton player? Having fun and traveling to all parts of the world. What is your goal for your badminton career? I’d like to be Number 1 in the world, even better than Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. What practice do you like? All of it. If you were to hit clear shots back and forth, how long do you think you can hit without making a mistake? 7-12 clears. Do you get nervous when you compete? Yep, sometimes. Who is your favorite badminton player? And why? Lee Chong Wei, he won many titles and he’s a righty and so am I.

Any players you want to compete against? I would like to compete against some U11 players who are 10 and some 9 year olds. Who are your rivals? Mostly all the U11 boys because they are really good. What is the greatest thing you have learned through playing badminton? Having fun. How would you advise younger players to achieve what you have achieved? Don’t give up and work hard. What does your coach teach you the most? Clears and any shots that use strength because I don’t have a lot of strength. Can you beat your parents? Only my mom.

What do you like to eat before, during, and after playing badminton? Before: Cheez-It. During: Raisins and chips. After: Neapolitan ice cream. How many new friends have you made through playing badminton? A lot, maybe like 17 friends. What are three words that describe you? Awesome, funny and smart. Do your school friends know that you play badminton? Yes, even my teachers. When you tell your friends about badminton how do you describe badminton? I say that badminton is a sport where you use a racquet, much like a tennis racquet to hit the shuttlecock back and forth.

Any sports before badminton? Baseball and soccer.

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William Cheung

Kenneth Davidson Sportsmanship Award 2013 Recipient

William placed 5th in U19 Boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Singles at 2013 Junior National

Respected Athlete

When looking at William Cheung competing on the court, he seems like he is a kid who just loves to play badminton. Many players describe him as a “lovable badminton player”, “brother”, and “acting like a happy 10-year-old happy boy who just hit several successful smashes in a row for the first time”. Cheung, 19, received the Kenneth Davidson Sportsmanship Award in 2013, which is given to a model athlete whose character, sportsmanship, contribution, and achievement is respected by other players. The freshman at University of California Berkeley has represented the United States and competed at the Junior Pan Am Games in the last five years. This year, he helped Team USA to win third place at the Pan Am Games. He also competed in the 2012 World Junior Badminton Championships, the biggest international tournament for juniors.

Interviewer Kota Morikawa

ou received the 2013 Kenneth Davidson Sportsmanship Award. What is your motto on and off the court? First off, I’m honored to be the recipient of the Kenneth Davidson Award. It’s humbling to share this distinction with past recipients, as they have paved the way and have been great examples of sportsmanship. I’m very grateful to be part of USA Badminton and being immersed with such wonderful people who share the same passion. I truly appreciate and thank everyone who voted and wrote all those kind words! Although this is an individual award, I feel that I am receiving this with my fellow players and friends whom I have grown up playing with. Sure, during matches, we are rivals com-

peting against one another. However, after the game, we hang out, talk, eat, and laugh together. They helped me, and throughout all these times together, I’ve learned from them how to become a better player and overall, a better person. What is so special about this sport is that I’ve met so many new people and have created genuine friendships that will last beyond the badminton courts. My motto on and off the court comes from a quote from the late UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden: “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” This quote applies to both badminton and life. I’ve learned that I should not whine or complain about things I can’t control. In other words, I shouldn’t dwell on my weaknesses but instead focus on amplifying my strengths. I feel that God has blessed me with unique gifts, and I should take advantage of those talwww.badmintonmonthly.com 43

William Cheung ents instead of being bitter and jealous of what He has blessed others with. Instead of concentrating on trying to be better than someone else, I should learn from others and try to become the best that I can be. If I get too caught up over what I can’t control, then I lose focus on what is most important: what I can control. I try to live by this motto. You participated in the World Junior Championships in Japan last year and the Pan Am Junior Championships for five consecutive years. What is it like to compete internationally and what did you think about the international players who are similar in age with you? It is an honor to represent USA in these tournaments; I feel that in the Pan Am Championships, USA Badminton is highly ranked and can compete as the top country. Pan Am is a phenomenal tournament in which I have had the privilege to compete since 2009. It is a place to celebrate the athletes around the continents of North and South America. I’ve always loved the opening ceremony that takes place before competition; it is where the host country welcomes the representing teams of their respective countries. We get a glimpse into the culture of that country through their performances and talents. Whether it be Jamaica’s songs and music, Canada’s bagpipe performance, or Mexico’s salsa dancing, I felt that these displays of culture are a chance to also appreciate the different countries and their uniqueness, all the while coming together to compete in the language we as athletes all know as badminton. World Juniors 2012 was an eye-opening experience because it was the first time I got to see players from all around the world competing in the same venue. I loved watching the games, especially the semifinals and finals. I was blown away by how professional these players are, and it’s even more fascinating how these players are all my age! Players from all over the world, especially Denmark, China, Korea, and Japan, were extremely impressive and fun to watch. The level of play was incredible, and I was in awe, being able to witness and experience all of this first hand! I’m grateful to be able to have competed in World Juniors and experience, literally, the world! Team USA had a tough match against Brazil at the semifinals in the team competition at Junior Pan Am this year. How does it feel competing in the team event? The semifinal was tough indeed. I remember it came down to the last match against Brazil, in which we were tied 2-2. It was an extremely 44 Badminton Monthly January 2014

“What is so special about this sport is that I’ve met so many new people and have created genuine friendships that will last beyond the badminton courts.” William (5th from right) at Pan Am Junior Championships in 2013 with his teammates and coaches. (Photo Courtesy of Allysa Khor)

William (3rd from right) on the 2nd place podium at the 2013 Junior National with Kenneth Hui. Other players on the podium are William’s long time rivals and friends.

well-fought game on both sides, going back and forth into the third and deciding set. Though the Brazilians ended up prevailing, we did not go down without a fight. It wasn’t the semi-final match itself that I hold onto. Rather, it was what happened afterwards, when the team did something that I’m proud of. Yes, it was a crushing loss. We were so close to reaching the finals and came up short. But we didn’t just hang our heads. It was through this adversity in which we grew stronger. We regrouped and came out together the next day not discouraged but determined to finish strong. We came back and decidedly defeated Mexico, earning the bronze medal. I believe that

match showed the resilience of our team, and the fact that we did not let a bump in the road affect our resolve. I’ve learned so much from the team event in 2013, and I’ll cherish the time in which I’ve had the privilege to grow together with my teammates. We gave it our best, and I believe that, in itself, is winning. We may have been outscored, but we won. Playing, watching, and rooting on my teammates was nothing short of an awe-inspiring opportunity. Being one of those sports fans that goes wild, I found cheering for USA as the perfect way for me to let everything out for something I felt so connected to. And every time we won a rally, I just jumped up and yelled as loud as I could, whipping my towel over my head like a helicopter. It was nothing less than exhilarating. With endless rallies, breathtaking dives, and impossible shots, the countless incredible displays of athleticism blew my mind. That’s what I love about the sport! What made the 2013 Pan Am Juniors especially spectacular was the fact that we had two hundred people strong, standing behind us, yelling the chorus of “USA! USA! USA!” The whole delegation, players and parents, was cheering relentlessly, and we fed off that positive energy throughout the entire event. We

jumped. We clapped. We held our breaths. We screamed. We cheered at the top of our lungs. We stood and shamelessly formed ‘O’s with our arms raised over our heads. We did all of this. Together. Badminton is inherently an individual sport, but not during Pan Am Juniors. And I’m not just talking about the Team event either. I’m talking about the entire tournament, including the Individual events as well. Coach Halim and Coach Jimmy taught us and reminded us of the true meaning of playing as a team and fighting together. Everyone present at Puerto Vallarta, from the West Coast to the East Coast, was part of a team. Team USA. I’ll miss playing in the Pan Ams, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to have played and experienced this fun and memorable tournament. I look forward to hearing back from future tournaments as well, where the upcoming players will carry on this great tradition. Go Team USA! What’s your goal for your badminton career? My goal in my badminton career is to simply never stop playing. I recently made the decision to dedicate my time to be a full time stu-

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William Cheung dent at UC Berkeley, meaning I won’t be able to accommodate a rigorous training schedule. However, I have joined the club team at UC Berkeley and I’m so pleased to have found this awesome community to continue playing with. Cal Badminton is a large and diverse team; everyone is supportive and friendly, and I’m really glad I get the chance to play with them. But I’m even more appreciative of Cal Badminton because I’ve formed genuine relationships with teammates whom I can share my life with, learn from, and grow with. I’ll definitely be playing collegiate badminton as well as continuing playing in open tournaments for now, but whether I decide later to start training again, play recreationally, or even take on coaching, I really can’t say for sure what the far future holds. But as long as I am holding a racket in my right hand and a birdie in my left, I’ll know I’ll be in the right place. How did you start playing badminton? I always loved sports; I played soccer, baseball, and basketball when I was young. But the feeling holding a racket is incomparable. I felt the most natural and comfortable playing badminton. Each stroke, each shot in badminton must be precise and clean. Every single time I am about to hit the bird, I can see into the future for two seconds. My brain knows where I want the birdie to be, and my legs carry my jump as I swing my right arm and flick my wrist down all in one fluid motion. I am not perfect, but I practice and practice so I have confidence in my technique. Just the ability to control the birdie is empowering. I feel that badminton can be compared to chess, where players must form a strategy and think two to three moves ahead, in this case, two shots ahead.

What do you like about badminton? First, badminton is a year-round sport and weather-independent, so I can play anytime; it’s also fun to play recreationally as well as competitively. Anybody can play, and I feel that no matter what your level, it’s a great way to go out and exercise, sweat, and work out, all the while having fun with friends. Badminton has given me the opportunity to meet so many great people, and I’ve gotten the chance to meet so many of my good friends through this sport. Most importantly, I love badminton because I can always learn from it. There is always something new to try out. There’s no such thing in badminton where one can say “I’ve seen it all.” Because every time at the gym, there are always just some unbelievable shots and rallies that I’ve never seen before, and I can’t help but smile. I remember when I was first playing badminton at my first junior tournaments (I was a small, 10 year old kid), I watched the older players and I thought to myself, “Wow, those players are amazing! I wish I could play like that!” And now, eight years later, after playing in my last Junior Nationals and Junior Pan Ams, here I am, watching all these players compete. I look left and right, and I realize I am now the ‘old kid’. But when I watch everyone who is younger than me play, I think to myself, “Wow, these players are amazing! I wish I could play like that!” I’m blown away by how badminton in the US has grown in the recent years. New gyms dedicated exclusively for badminton have been springing up rapidly, and more and more people are beginning to show interest in this sport. I’m extremely excited about the rise of badminton here in this country, and I intend to stay involved as much as I can and help contribute

to this growth in any way I can. Who are the badminton players who inspire you and tell us what makes them special? My favorite badminton player is Peter Gade. I love his style of play, especially how he uses his deceptive shots. It is really fun to watch and try to learn from, as I try to use some of the techniques other than overpowering to win the point. I also admire his longevity as a professional badminton player, sustaining his high level of play over his long and successful career. His sportsmanship is exquisite and he is an overall class act. Gade is a great role model and ambassador for the sport of badminton. Two of my greatest inspirations are my coaches, Halim Haryanto and Kowi Chandra. Their tremendous passion for the sport of badminton is truly inspiring. It is so cool to see their unending dedication to teaching and spreading the love of their game. I’ve been quite fortunate to have been able to train with and learn from them. They are so knowledgeable and experienced in badminton, and they have helped me develop my game to new heights. Kind, patient, and encouraging are just a few of so many words to describe them. Not only are they outstanding coaches, but they are also great friends. Another two of my badminton role models are sisters Iris and Rena Wang, whom I’ve been grateful to have come to befriend over the years. I first watched Rena destroy the competition at my first Pan Am in 2009 at Puerto Rico. And now, she recently represented and played for the USA in the ultimate level: the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. This exemplifies her hard work and dedication to the sport, pursuing

Got Smile?

it is always hard to find a photo of William not smiling. Can you find any?

“Smiling means joy, and it is always uplifting and contagious. It’s a universal language! A simple smile can make a huge difference to brighten up a person’s day. The feeling of laughing and reciprocating laughter is a pretty awesome feeling.” - William Cheung 46 Badminton Monthly January 2014

With UC Berkeley Badminton at UC Davis during team meet on November 23. William at 7th from right at top row. (Photo Courtesy of William Cheung)

her passion to the best of her ability. Iris is also my role model, and I love watching her play, making everything look seemingly effortless. She goes for every shot and even when I think there’s no way she can get a shot, she does. At the 2012 World Juniors she did tremendously well, convincingly beating top players from all around the world. Not only is she a remarkable athlete, but she’s also so modest and respectful, something that I strive to be. Both Iris and Rena also study at UCLA, which I am even more impressed by. I really admire and look up to them. But my ultimate inspiration is none other than my mom, Rebecca Cheung. After all, she is the one that handed me my first badminton racket. She’s the one who first led me onto a badminton court and hit a birdie with me, in which I promptly swung and hit nothing but air. She’s the one who has driven me countless miles to and from every practice these eightplus years. She’s the one cheering the loudest during my games. She introduced the sport to me because she loves the sport. I owe all my achievements and accomplishments in badminton to her. To this day, she continues to play this sport, and I try my best to play with her whenever I can. Whether it be her challenging me to singles or us playing mixed doubles together, I find joy in playing badminton with my mom. What element do you think is the most important for your badminton success? I believe that though badminton is very much a physical and technical game, when both players are equally matched in those areas, it all comes down to mental toughness. That will decide the victor. The mindset going into the game is my strength. Before each match I prepare physically by stretching and warming up.

I also mentally prepare by concentrating on my plan for the game. I envision myself doing well on the court. I see myself making my shots and controlling the game. With this confidence, I can relax and relinquish my nerves. Is there any life lesson you learned from badminton? Badminton has taught me many life lessons. Strategy on the court parallels strategy in life. One of my inspirations is John Wooden, and I especially like the quote, “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” In badminton, it is important not to rush or tense up; this will cause unforced errors and mental mistakes. This applies to my everyday decision making; I should be quick in action but not hurry and make errors. I’ve learned that success isn’t all about winning. Winning isn’t all about outscoring the

Fun with his colleagues and coaches in the hotel lobby while traveling to compete at Pan American Junior Championships 2013. (Photo Courtesy of William Cheung)

opponent. Instead, suc- At the UC Davis cess comes from knowing Fall Open competing with Rebecca inside that I have done Cheung (right), everything that I can to William’s long time become the best I can be. fan, supporter, and This comes from prepar- mother. ing in the right way and practicing in the best way. It’s all about the effort. When facing adversity, it is always an opportunity to improve. Adversity is what motivates me to be stronger. It’s not about the size of the wolf in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the wolf. If there’s one quote that I remind myself of every day, it is “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” Wise words from the great Coach Wooden, and I am thankful and humbled by my talent.

William played with his coach Kowi Chandra against Bintang Coaches Holvy De Pauw (far left) and Sittichai Viboonsin (second from left). (Photo Courtesy of William Cheung)

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Workout of the Month

Get Balanced! Better shoulder stability can prevent injury and also give you a more powerful swing by Arthur Ahlswede Photography by Derick Santos We show you four exercises that help strengthen your shoulders and core stability, as well as your quadricep, calf and gluteal muscles. Strengthening muscle groups in your lower body, together with a stronger core and proper footwork, will improve your overall balance and allow you to move around quicker! With that said, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get right into it!

About the Instructor

Arthur Ahlswede

Master Trainer at 24 Hour Fitness; 3000+ Sessions serviced; NASM Certified Personal Trainer; Certified Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES); Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES); MMA Strength and Conditioning Certified

Workout of the Month

EXERCISE 1

BENEFITS

Ninja Squats

· Engages fast reacting muscles. · Improves response time. · Improves the speed of your steps.

Directions: · Squat down. Extend your arms for better balance. Keep your back straight and make sure your knees are “behind” your toes. (1, 3) · Quickly hop up onto your toes and maintain balance (very important). (2, 4) · Repeat.

Recommendation: 4 sets of 10 reps For higher intensity: · More reps. · Hold for one second while on your toes. · Superset (no rest in between) with assisted-single-leg squat.

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Workout of the Month

BENEFITS

EXERCISE 2

· Engages secondary muscle by maintaining balance. · Increases strength for pushing off from a lunge. · Improves balance.

Assisted-Single-Leg Squats Directions: · Extend one leg out in sitting position. Extend arms for better balance. Keep your back straight. (1) · Push off and stand up while maintaining balance (very important). (2, 3) · Repeat. · Switch leg.

Recommendation: 4 sets of 5-8 For higher intensityc: · More reps. · Slow down standing and sitting process. · Get really close to chair/ bench between reps but do not sit down. · Superset with Ninja Squats.

Our Recommendation for Repetitions: On a fatigue scale of 1-10 with 10 being extremely fatigue, do not exceed 7. What we mean is if doing 2 reps get you to 7 on the scale, stop right there and rest! The last thing we want is someone who wants to get stronger but ends up injuring themselves! Fitness is something that takes a long time to build. It takes hard work and consistency to achieve desired results. Now with that said, let’s start our work out! *Always consult a fitness professional if you have further questions about working out.

50 Badminton Monthly January 2014

Workout of the Month

BENEFITS

EXERCISE 3

· Strengthens shoulder stability. · Prevents shoulder pain from excessive smashing. · Improves core stability for better balance.

Plank Reach

Directions: · Push up position (plank). Shoulders above your wrists. Shoulders, hips and ankles aligned in a straight line. (1) · Keep your core tight and stay balanced while reaching up with one arm. (2) · Back to step 1 · Reach up with the other arm. (3)

Recommendation: 4 sets of 10 (5 on each arm alternating) For higher intensity: · More reps · Do a push-up in between switching sides. (4, 5, 6, 7) · Hold for 2 seconds in reaching position.

6 7

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Workout of the Month

BENEFITS

EXERCISE 4

Fire Hydrant

Directions: · Kneeling with both hands on the floor. Keep your back straight. Hips are aligned with your knees and shoulders above your wrists. (1) · Extend one leg directly outward to the side (NOT towards the back) and bring your leg up high enough so it’s horizontal.(2) · Repeat. · Switch leg.

· Engages gluteus medius muscle. · Improves speed in side-to-side movements and when changing direction. · Improves hip stability for better balance and prevents hip and ankle injury.

Recommendation: 4 sets of 8-10 each leg For higher intensity: · More reps. · Hold for for two seconds in “up” position.

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52 Badminton Monthly January 2014

MY BADMINTON LIFE Rising Star from De Anza College

Pinky Sheung Wei Li Sophomore at De Anza College, 17 Years Old Cupertino, CA

oved from Hong Kong to the U.S. to study biology at De Anza College and train for badminton in the San Francisco Bay Area in August 2012, Pinky Sheung Wei Li immediately made a huge impact on De Anza College women’s badminton team. She brought her badminton experience from Hong Kong and won a triple crown at the California Community College Athletic Association’s (CCCAA) state championship tournament last May. BM: Congratulations on winning the Triple Crown at the CCCAA state championship last May. How does it feel to win all three events? PL: I was really excited at the time and I still am. I was extremely worried about the team event in the beginning because both San Francisco City College and San Diego City College have really good players. But I have seen the progress our team players made during the season and I was super happy when our team won. In the doubles final, you fell behind 18-19 in the third set. What do you usually tell yourself to overcome a critical situation like that? In the situation like this, I normally tell myself not to rush any shots. Also, I will try not to think about the score because I know both the opponent and I are feeling nervous at that time. The one who stays calmer will probably perform better and win the set.

players? It is comparatively more intense and serious in that tournament. Different players from all over Asia came to play and I was impressed by players from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia because most of the time, a point has to last over 10 shots and they can still keep up the speed after that long rally. Even if the game lasted three sets, they still fight till the end even though they are really tired. If there is a chance, I would like to participate in international tournaments in the future. Tell us why you started playing badminton. I think it is an interesting sport which requires thinking about where you should hit right before you make contact with the birdie. It is challenging at first because our brains have to control our eyes, leg and arms at the same time in order to think more and hit to the best spot. When I make an excellent shot, I feel successful.

Your teammates say that your slicing drop shots from the right back end of the court is your signature shot and often times described as “beautiful”. How do you practice that shot? I watched videos of Olympic players playing tournaments and I admire that slice shot. So I asked my coach to teach me the form and I tried it during practice.

Does the swimming experience you had help you to become the player you are now? Yes, I am able to stay calmer during the game because the level of nervousness is less in a badminton tournament than in a swimming tournament. I can really feel my heart racing heavily in swimming, not to mention the butterflies in my stomach. For badminton, after warming up, that kind of feeling is gone.

What was the training in Hong Kong like? The training in Hong Kong is more intense. We have to do fitness training almost every day and a lot of times. We had to travel to mainland China to play games with Chinese players.

What kind of practice do you like? I like practicing full court one-on-one skills. It requires more thinking and it is like a real game.

Photo Courtesy of Christina Ja

You have competed in the Asian Schools Badminton Championship. What was it like playing against international

How has your family supported you? They drive me to practice and are there every time there is a tournament. Before a tournament, I’m always cranky because of the stress. But they do not blame me. They will try to cheer me up and make me feel better. Before tournaments, my parents will prepare essential things (food, extra jackets, hot chocolate) so that I can rest more comfortably after a match. What element do you think is the most important to your badminton success? Family support. Without their support, I think I would have given up badminton long ago because of studies.

De Anza College Women Badminton Team @ Pasadena City College

State Championships - May 9, 2013

Is there any life lesson you learned from badminton? I learned that no matter how bad the situation was, if we stayed strong and fought, we could always change the situation and find success at the end.

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Chapter 2: Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Play Badminton Together! Robert jumps into love! By Rocket Mango

54 Badminton Monthly January 2014