The 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Phils Nat’l Open Badminton Championships
5 years of Yonex-Sunrise Phils Tourney; 5 years of Fantastic Philippine Badminton
- Dan Rupinta
It's been five years since we carried out the maiden Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships. 2004 was undoubtedly one of the best years in Philippine badminton as the craze has reached fever-pitch highs. People from all walks of life - students, working professionals and even retirees - trooped to various badminton courts all over the country to join the mania. And if leisure was not reason enough, many paid extra to undergo serious training with former national team players and club trainers. Many viewed the entry of the Yonex-Sunrise tourney that year as a fitting partnership between Yonex - World Number One in Badminton - with the
That year, the public's response to the tournament was nothing short of spectacular. Registration reached well over 800, a milestone for a tournament that introduced age categorization instead of grading or leveling. The tournament witnessed the
In 2005, we "fine-tuned" the entry categorizations in response to a number of popular requests. For the first time, we introduced the Seniors A category, thus allowing young competitive club players and regional talents to compete in top-level badminton matches without having to join the Open category. The tournament entries soared and the event and record numbers of spectators filled the bleachers to the rafters daily. It was in this year that we introduced the Corporate category, a welcome addition for all badminton aficionados coming from the corporate sector. As expected, badminton darlings Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion defended their Mixed Doubles crown while Kennevic made history as the first back-to-back champion of the tournament.
2006 turned out to be one of the most memorable years of the tournament's history. It again registered a record number of tourney participants, both from the Individual and Corporate categories. And in that year, the tourney also attracted the most number of regional participants, thanks to the birth of regional club affiliations that powered young and talented badminton players to participate in various badminton tournaments in different parts of the country. And not by coincidence, players hailing from the Visayas and
It was the "changing of the guards" in 2007. New faces emerged victorious. Unseeded twins Jonas and Jerome Serrano bagged the MD title in the Seniors A category. Tall and agile youngster Gelita Catillo was the centerpiece among the bright new stars of Philippine badminton, bagging both 16U and 14U Girls Singles category. For the first time in 4 years, new champions emerged in the Open Mens Doubles category - brothers Rodel and Ricky Bartolome. But providing some stability to an otherwise "year of upsets", Lloyd Escoses successfully defended his Men's Singles crown in the Open category. Recognizing the importance of developing new talents coming from the juniors, 2007 introduced two new categories - 10Under and 8Under - which proved to be two of the audience's favorites in terms of fun and entertainment.
We promise 2008 to be a year of improvements to make the tournament more competitive and more exciting. We implemented major changes in the games scheduling. To support the need for more junior participants, we are not scheduling any juniors matches during the weekdays to avoid disrupting their school commitments. We will commence weekday games at 4pm to accommodate schedules of the Seniors and Corporate participants. And this year, we will distribute only original branded Yonex shirts to all participants instead of the usual tourney event shirts. Given the depth of
SO GEAR UP! WELCOME TO THE 2008
Email us at: wkievents@worldkalakal.com
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