In preparation for the 2015 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships next month in Tijuana, Mexico, seven players are training in Milpitas, according to their coach Kowi Chandra.
Practicing at Bay Badminton Center on Montague Expressway leading up to the event are six girls and one boy:
Among the competitors in training here are previous gold medal winners at the Pan Am championships.
In 2013, Gai won gold in U13 girls singles, U13 girls doubles and U13 mixed doubles. Ma won gold in 2012 in U13 girls doubles. A year ago, Yuan won gold in U15 girls doubles.
Although they are 15 years old, twin sisters Annie and Kerry Xu are the top two ranked girls in the U.S. in the under 19 category, Chandra said. The pair teamed up to win gold in 2014 and 2013 in U19 and U15 girls doubles.
In 2013, Annie Xu won gold in mixed doubles. Kerry Xu, won gold in U15 girls singles.
Generally, the athletes practice at least three to four times a week when big tournaments are coming up, said Chandra, head coach at Bay Badminton Center. An additional four players are in training at Bay Badminton Center’s South San Francisco location.
A former badminton national player for Indonesia, Chandra is a member of the coaching advisory group for USA Badminton, which operates directly under the U.S. Olympic Committee.
“Personally for me these players are naturally talented. They work hard to achieve what they are today. As a coach, my job is to encourage and motivate them to give their best in every match, as well as to give them advice on techniques and games strategies,” Chandra said.
Organized by Badminton Pan Am, or BPA, this year’s junior championships are scheduled from Aug. 2-9 with team events from Aug. 2-4 and individual events from Aug. 5-9. The players are expected to leave for Baja California on July 31.
A total of 63 U.S. badminton team, players, seven coaches and several parents are making the trip.
“This year, I am very confident as we are sending our best team to return home with as many gold medals as possible. As a head coach at Bay Badminton Center at Milpitas and member of USA Badminton coaching advisory, I feel that I have the burden to spread the awareness of the success story of the badminton team in the U.S.A., especially in the Bay Area,” Chandra said.
In the 2014 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships at Guatemala City, Guatemala, the USA team was the gold medal winner in the team event and brought back 22 gold medals out of 25 available in individual events — the highest total in the last 10 years.
Coincidentally, Chandra said the sport has blossomed locally.
“I believe that badminton in the Bay Area has been growing a lot for the past 10 years. It can be seen from the number of players that are coming from the Bay Area to represent the country in this upcoming 2015 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships in Mexico. The rise is also contributed by the large number of immigrants into high-tech companies especially in the south part of the Bay Area. But I do hope that badminton can be one of the favorite sports in the U.S., not only by the immigrants of first generation of Americans, but also by the native Americans,” he said.
Contact Julian J. Ramos at jramos@themilpitaspost.com or 408-262-2454 or follow him on twitter.com/julianjramosmp. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/MilpitasPost and twitter.com/MilpitasPost.
