The NMI Junior National Badminton Team members and their coaches pose with their third-place medals during the awards ceremony of the Pacific Under 17 Invitation Team Challenge 2024 in Victoria, Australia, Sunday.
THE NMI Junior National Badminton Team will return home with a bronze medal after beating Guam, Fiji and New Caledonia in the Pacific U17 Invitational Team Challenge 2024 hosted by Geelong, Australia on Feb. 16-18.
On Friday, Team NMI started strong by outlasting Guam, 3-2.
The NMI’s Marlon Bautista and Shaina Malonzo defeated Guam’s Yu Xia and Danielle Snaer in the mixed doubles event, 18-21, 21-17, 21-16.
But Guam’s Allen Zeng beat the NMI’s Sernantie Jimenez in another three-set battle, this time in the men’s singles, 19-21, 21-7, 21-19. The NMI’s Lina Tsukagoshi then equalized with a win over Guam’s Kristine Deng, 21-15, 21-19, to regain the upper hand.
Guam answered with a win in the men’s doubles, but the NMI’s Malonzo and Tsukagoshi worked well as a team to claim the final women’s doubles event against Guam’s Deng and Snaer, 23-21, 21-12, and notch the match for the NMI.
Against Fiji
The NMI then bested Fiji, 4-1.
This time, Jimenez was joined by Genelyn Lansangan as they triumphed in the mixed doubles event against Fiji’s Tony Zhou and Michelle Qiu, 21-16, 21-12.
As individuals, both teams were evenly matched with Bautista beating Fiji’s Ethan Gibson in the men’s singles, 19-21, 21-13, 21-10 while Tsuakgoshi suffered the NMI’s only loss against Leilah Chung, 15-21, 21-13, 15-21.
Bautista and Evan Seguritan then triumphed against Fiji’s Gibson and Zhou in the men’s doubles, 17-21, 21-13, 21-18, while Malonzo and Tuskagoshi bested Chung and Qiu in the women’s doubles, 21-15, 16-21, 21-14.
Speed bumps
Team NMI did hit speed bumps as they were dominated by the highly skilled teams of Tahiti, 0-5, and the Cook Islands, 1-4.
But in the NMI’s final match of the tournament, they managed to outlast New Caledonia, 3-2.
Jimenez and Malonzo paired up in the mixed doubles and outscored New Caledonia’s Kimi Durand and Amy Katjawan, 21-5, 21-15, followed by Tsukagoshi’s victory over Katjawan, 21-10, 20-22, 21-7.
The NMI’s third victory was claimed by Malonzo and Tsukagoshi who outplayed New Caledonia’s Augustine Capitaine and Olympe Darcheville, 21-10, 21-11.
Very pleased
“Congratulations to our NMI Junior National Badminton Team players and coaches!” Northern Marianas Badminton Association President Merlie Tolentino said.
“The NMBA is very pleased that we are now getting the positive results we are aiming for when we started to bring the badminton program to schools and recruit young players a couple of years ago. We are investing in our junior program to provide opportunities for our players to compete outside the NMI and experience high-level competitions, and encourage them to represent our islands well on and off the playing court,” she added.
The NMBA president also acknowledged coaches Janelle Pangilinan, Ezekiel Macario, and Nate Guerrero for taking on the challenge and responsibilities of coaching the NMI Junior National Badminton Team and contributing to the successful campaign in Australia.
“This accomplishment was not achieved overnight,” she said. “It took months and years of having players who are committed to the sport, not just during the interscholastic season, but as well as in training camps and regular practice sessions. Count the guidance and dedication from our hardworking coaches and the technical support from Badminton Oceania, plus the support too from the players’ parents, teachers, and school officials. All these contributing factors have allowed us to build a strong program that is slowly delivering positive results for NMI badminton,” Tolentino said.
The NMI’s Lina Tsukagoshi, right, and Shaina Malonzo in action against Guam during a women’s doubles game of the Pacific U17 Invitation Team Challenge on Friday in Victoria, Australia.
NMI coaches Ezekiel Macario and Janelle Pangilinan huddle with Shaina Malonzo and Marlon Bautista during a break from their mixed doubles game against Guam.
