RP badminton’s future in good hands, says National team mainstay

MANILA, Philippines – National team mainstay Kennie Asuncion sees the future of badminton in the Philippines remains bright since there are a lot of talented players out there waiting to be seen by the country’s sports officials. Asuncion, the other half of the Philippine mixed doubles team with brother Kennievic, said the pool of players to choose from got bigger and deeper since a lot more players are into badminton these days. “Badminton is progressing in the Philippines. There are a lot of younger players that show a lot of promise," said Asuncion, who was watching at the sidelines in Saturday’s opening games of the 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships at the Yonex Philippines Badminton Club in Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. The formal opening rites will be held Sunday with the Asuncion siblings the guest of honor in the fifth staging of the tournament that attracted a total of 1,700 players from all over the country. Asuncion, who will see action once more in the mixed doubles event with Kennievic, said they are expecting a tough road ahead of them since the level of competition is now different when they were starting. “Competition will be tough since a lot of players have improved. We also expect our batch mates during our RP team days to also give us a hard time. Though they are not anymore active with the National team, they are still strong contenders," she said. The Asuncion siblings skipped the last two editions of the annual tournament after they competed in several top level international meets in their bid to earn qualifying points for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Asked what will be their game plan in the Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open, Asuncion said they will take it one game at a time. “We try to focus first on our present game and not think of the future matches as we advance. We always take it one game at a time." The Asuncions begin their campaign against Abigail Papa and Loren Palomar on Thursday in the mixed doubles open category, which offers a total prize money of P120,000 in the five events to be played - men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles. Organizers welcomed the entry of the Asuncions, RP team mainstays Arolas Amahit, Lloyd Escoses and Ian Piencenaves, and a host of promising shuttlers since it has raised the level of competition. Proof of how tough the competition is was evident in Saturday’s opening matches in the junior division where 31 games went into three sets while others went into two sets but players had to really work hard for their points. This year’s edition of the Yonex Philippines National, which will crown 41 champions after 1,058 matches spread over 10 days, will also feature teams and players from as far as Butuan City. Other competing clubs came from Iloilo City, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Vizcaya and the nearby province of Bulacan as they are out to foil the dominance Metro Manila teams. – GMANews.TV