Malou Malasarte looks on as she prepares for the return in a 45-&-over division game of the Tan Holdings Cup at the Ada gym over the weekend.
Leonard Manuel connects the smash return during a Tan Holdings Cup game at the Ada gym over the weekend.
FAVORED players delivered in the finale of the Northern Marianas Badminton Association’s Tan Holdings Cup, winning their respective events in the open division at the Ada gym.
In the women’s singles, Jenny Yue claimed the gold medal by besting Windy Fernandez.
Yue played with confidence as she controlled the pace with constant smashes mixed with soft net returns to throw Fernandez off balance.
Fernandez managed to break through Yue’s defense a couple of times, but could not muster enough strength to close the gap, and had to settle for a first set loss, 10-21.
The second set only solidified Yue’s dominance as she overpowered Fernandez, 21-6.
In the men’s singles, Rui Wang defeated Joseph Torres, 21-8, 21-14, to win the gold.
In the women’s doubles, Janelle Pangilinan and young Lina Tsukagoshi paved their way to the top by outplaying their opponents, Jennilyn Cardinio and Terresa Ahn, 21-15, 21-13.
Although Torres came out short in the men’s singles, he partnered with Jordan Pangilinan and the two took gold in the men’s doubles event by outlasting Andreau Galvez and Lance Gallardo.
It was a very tough match that could have gone either way. In the first set, Galvez and Gallardo emerged victorious, 21-19, but Torres and Pangilinan rallied their way through the second set, 21-17, and continued to ride the momentum in the third and final set with Torres connecting the finishing quick return to secure the gold, 21-18.
In the mixed doubles, Janelle Pangilinan earned her second gold medal as she paired with Leonard Manuel to edge Rui Wang and Jenny Yue in three sets, 20-21, 21-11, 21-16.
The older athletes also had a chance to shine in the 45 & over category.
Malou Malasarte and Marlene Peraja topped the women’s doubles by defeating Shirley Kim and Sunja Kim, 21-12, 21-19.
In the men’s doubles, Narlou Achas and Son Jae Ok trounced Crispulo Hilario and Puy Macario, 21-19, 21-12.
In the mixed doubles, Crispulo Hilario and Malou Malasarte teamed up to outscore Son Jae Ok and Sunja Kim, 21-11, 21-16.
