As The Smoke and Dust Settle

As The Smoke and Dust Settle

- Aggie Mañalac

 

November 30, 2008, past 7pm.  The last of this year’s Finals matches has been played, the last medal awarded after the 24,818^th minute of the tournament was clocked.  We watched 2,057 games from 1,051 matches where 67,193 points were scored.  These defined the continuing saga of the annual Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships.  We finally gave each other high-fives, warm hugs and heaved deep sighs of relief.  For a moment we were all too spaced out to notice the debris that surrounded us – empty plastic bottles, deflated Yonex clappers --  remnants of wild screams and cheers as battles among the country’s best were fought hard and intensely on court.   It was a war-zone.  Some fought hard to defend crowns, others to grab them.  The tournament has long ceased to be participated in by mere club players from warehouse courts of Manila.  It has become the final face-off for athletes from major training camps all over the country.  

 

The past 10 days gave us much food for thought about the future of badminton in the Philippines.  If any, the turnout and the quality of the matches we witnessed are a good indication that there is hope for the sport that we remain passionate about.

 

The “Bulilit” warriors.  We split the Juniors 8 and Under category between boys and girls – a great decision.  We were as amazed as everybody else at the skill and talent demonstrated by kids who wielded rackets longer than half their height that racket heads would drag on the floor.  Some, most likely playing with a level of intensity as never before, found themselves in near tears due to frustration half-way through the third set of one point- gapped matches.  In the end, it was difficult to tell why they were crying at all, or who won from who fell second, as tears of joy mingled with tears of disappointment.  Some experienced the blood rush from winning their first championship and will hunger for more.  Others stared defeat in the face and, probably for the first time too, vowed to regain their chance for a Yonex medal next year.  Already, all eyes are on these young high flyers, as they have begun to form a foundation for our new crop of badminton talents who will be ready to face their international berths within the next couple of years.

 

Now Off-Center.  That Manila is the sole center for great talents has been disproved yet again, this time punctuated with certainty.  This only benefits a sport that thirsts for new talent to groom and deepen its relatively shallow bench.   More athletes from training camps in nearby Laguna, Batangas and Bulacan widened Manila’s web.  Contingents from Butuan, Iloilo, Sultan Kudarat, Nueva Viscaya, the Ilocos Region, were likewise up to the challenge, with many succeeding, a few reaping silvers and golds in not one, not two, but the maximum three in a category.  Sterling performances in the Seniors category did not fail to catch the attention of players from the corporate world.  They came to Manila to compete and finished the tournament kissing their medals and unexpectedly welcoming a job prospect.  Teeners in the Juniors category gained chances of an athletic scholarship in Manila’s finest universities.

 

Opened Wide By Youth and Experience.  Marquee matches of the Open Category had their own interesting twists this year.  Interestingly, almost all of the ex-National team players joined this year’s Open Category events, many paired with the newer, younger stars.   It was a case of experience matching up with youth, and in a few cases, mentor/coach with erstwhile student.  To add even more fever to the excitement and nail-biting, this tournament likewise witnessed cardiac matches showcasing youth versus experience.  Athletes literally young enough to compete in Juniors matches opted to stretch themselves to their limits by joining the Open Category.  They can only be called admirable; they appeared unfazed and undaunted as they toughed it up against wiser opponents who have had much wider experience, even from international tournaments.  Some of the younger ones emerged victorious.  Others bowed out during the second set of the match, but not before making their more experienced opponents work hard for every point earned.

 

This is what the Yonex-Sunrise National Open Badminton Championships is all about: power, grit, skill and talent.  A venue to discover emerging talents, to offer the opportunity to cast a wider net, and to hone and stretch skills to the limit.  

 

With this, we conclude this year’s Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships.   It just keeps getting better, and next year will definitely not be an exception.

 

The 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships was presented to you by YONEX-SUNRISE and co-presented by PHITEN.  This event was also brought to us by:  Badminton Hub, Sportshub, My Shaldan, Makati Shangri-la, BSI Medicated Spray, Fish Designs, Potraitme.net, Potato Corner and our official & exclusive print partner, The Philippine Star