2010 Mid-Atlantic Classic (3/26-3/28)

A USAB sanctioned one-star tournament, the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Classic was held in Philadelphia the last weekend of March. Being that it was so far away, only Minh and Phu participated. It was an exciting tournament for them, as they met and played against many new faces. There are a lot of strong players in the East Coast too that they normally do not get the chance to play with! Unfortunately, the tournament was constantly behind schedule and Phu/Minh ended up being at the gym from 10am to 12am!

Minh had fairly smooth games that he was able to win in two sets all the way up to finals. The finals match was against ex-Cuban national player Ilian Perez. Minh secured his victory in three sets, to become the men's singles champion!

On the men's doubles side, Minh and Phu again met many new players and very much enjoyed their games. Semi-finals was a close, tough match against current top US doubles players Vincent/Sameer. Minh and Phu played well and stayed focus, pulling a 21-18 win in the third set. Finals proved to be tougher though and they just didn't have the spark they had the previous day, losing to Ajit/Sunil.

Overall, it was a great experience but surely nothing beats California weather and California badminton facilities! ^_^

2010 Dave Freeman Open (2/26-2/28)

A USAB sanctioned two-star tournament, the 2010 Dave Freeman Open was held at San Diego's Balboa Park the last weekend of February. The usual West Coast top U.S. contenders were mostly there, making it a familiar scene though in a different facility. Bintang's pro players participated in this tournament and had a good showing, although half of them were sick throughout the trip. :[

Minh had an exciting semi-finals match against Hock Lai Lee, the winner of most tournaments of late in men's singles. He played a very consistent game and was lucky also that his opponent was a bit out of form compared to normal. So Minh won the game in two close sets. He then faced Sattawat in finals and clinched victory in two sets, becoming the new 2010 Dave Freeman Men's Singles Champion!

Results are as follows:

Open Men's Singles Champion - Minh Nguyen
Open Men's Singles Semi-finalist - Christopher Flores
Open Men's Doubles Semi-finalist - Minh Nguyen/Phu Khuu
Open Men's Doubles Consolation - Christopher Flores/Ba Su*
Open Women's Doubles Semi-finalist - Paula O'banana/Chin Go
Open Mixed Doubles Semi-finalist - Paula O'banana/Chandra Kowi*
BMS 2nd - Dominick Lim
CMS 2nd - Nate Le
CMD Semi-finalist - Nate Le/Ryan Ngo

For full details, please check here.

Kason Racket Supply Tournament (2/27-2/28)

The Kason Tournament hosted by Racket Supply, held at SJSU, was another successful tournament for Bintang Team, even though all of the coaches except for Roxanne were away for another tournament. Results from the team as follows:

BMS 2nd - Randy Ma
BMS semi's - Chetan Potu
CMS 1st - Jack Ma
CMS 2nd - Gavin Chan
CWS 1st - Priscilla Long
CMD 2nd - Chetan Potu & Martin Hung
CWD Cons - Priscilla Long & Micaela Lum*
CMX 1st - Phoebe Lin & Martin Hung
DMD 2nd - Brian Li & Jack Ma
DWD 1st - Priscilla Long & Micaela Lum*
U15 BS 1st - Bryan Chow
U15 BS Semi - Justin Ma
U15 BD Cons - Jordy Supandi & Eric Cheung
U15 MX Cons - Priscilla Long & Brian Duong
U13 BS 1st - Brian Duong
U13 GS Cons - Karen Ma
U11 BS 2nd - Bryce Kan
U11 BS Cons - Ethan Low
U11 GS 1st - Karen Ma
U11 BD Semi - Bryce Kan & Ethan Low
U11 GD 2nd - Karen Ma & Joanna Liu*
U11 MX Cons - Karen Ma & Bryce Kan

Thank you to Roxanne for all the time and effort spent coaching all the kids! Good job everyone -- keep training hard and raking in those trophies!