JANELLE Pangilnan and Jenine Savellano made history by earning the NMI’s first badminton medal in a regional or international competition.
The pair won the women’s doubles bronze medal on Saturday at Ada gym.
They aimed for gold but they lost to Tahiti’s Melissa Mi You and Jenica Lesourd in the semifinals, 19-21, 7-21.
They faced another Tahitian pair, Waianuhea Teheura and Hortensia Manzana, in the bronze-medal game, and this time Pangilnan and Savellano were more than ready.
Their opponents played aggressively with continuous smashes to take the lead, 5-4. However, Pangilinan and Savellano equalized with quick shots mixed with deep lobs before finishing strong to seize control, 11-7.
They then expanded their lead while Tahiti committed errors and had to settle for a first-set loss, 12-21.
In the second set, Pangilinan and Savellano continued to ride high. No matter what Tahiti threw at them, the NMI duo had an answer, including quick returns near the net to keep their opponents off-balanced.
Tahiti could score only one more point while the NMI snagged the second and final set to win the bronze.
“It feels great to win a medal for badminton — a lot of hard work went into our preparation. We strove for gold but we are happy with bronze. It’s an honor to represent the NMI and win a medal,” Janelle Pangilinan said. “Our competition was good, and there were lots of challenges along the way, but I’m happy that we were able to put up a fight against even the top teams.”
She added, “It’s an amazing experience and we’re only going to get better moving forward.”
Jenine Savellano said they entered the tournament “with a mindset that we were going to win a medal for the NMI. It means a lot to Janelle and me to win our match and represent the NMI. Just like all the athletes representing the NMI, our goal was to win a medal for the Northern Marianas.”
The NMI badminton team members and other local athletes participate in the closing ceremony of the 2022 Pacific Mini Games at the Oleai Track & Field on Saturday.
The NMI’s Janelle Pangilinan and Jenine Savellano prepare for the incoming serve during a 2022 Pacific Mini Games badminton match at the Ada gym.
