NMI claims bronze in junior badminton

Article from Marianas Variety (mvariety.com)

New Zealand, Australia, and NMI players pose together as the medalists of the VICTOR Oceania Junior Team Championships 2025 during the awards ceremony at the Ada gym on Tuesday.

Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.

TEAM NMI clinched the bronze medal at the VICTOR Oceania Junior Team Championships 2025 with a 4-1 victory over perennial rival Guam at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Tuesday.

The host team’s Dave Odicta and Shaina Malonzo outscored Guam’s Yu Xia and Offeia Yordy in two straight sets.

The NMI duo covered each other’s blind spots while controlling the pace of the match with a mix of powerful smashes and delicate net touches that kept Guam off balance. Although Guam fought back with highlights of their own, they were ultimately overwhelmed by the NMI, 15-8, 15-8.

The NMI’s second consecutive match win was delivered by Lina Tsukagoshi, who bested Guam’s Kristine Deng in two sets.

The 14-year-old NMI player’s biggest advantage was her movement, as she covered the court with quick steps. Paired with swift returns and smart placements, this kept her in control throughout the match. Guam’s Deng had her moments, forcing Tsukagoshi into a series of errors, but in the end, she had to settle for defeat, 15-6, 15-8, handing the NMI its second win of the day.

In the men’s singles match, Guam’s Allan Zeng managed to outlast the NMI’s Malon Bautista 15-13, 15-12.

However, the NMI returned fire with Malonzo and Tsukagoshi defeating Guam’s Deng and Yordy in the women’s doubles match, 15-6, 15-10.

Despite Team NMI already securing match victory, Guam went down fighting in the men’s doubles event.

Guam’s Xia and Zeng won the first set 15-12, but the NMI’s Jude Mallari and Odicta triumphed in the next two sets, 15-10, 15-11, to solidify the home team’s overall victory, 4-1.

The NMI secured the bronze medal with a total of three wins, including a hard-fought 3-2 upset over Tahiti, a 5-0 sweep of Fiji, and a narrow 3-2 victory against the Cook Islands. They fell to undefeated gold medalist Australia and silver medalist New Zealand, both by identical 0-5 scores.

“It feels really good — extra special. Our kids played hard and worked hard,” said NMI coach Nate Guerrero. In addition to winning bronze, it was the NMI’s first time competing in a regional U19 badminton tournament.

“It’s a really good feeling to see them enjoy and take it all in,” Guerrero said, referring to the NMI players.

Asked which team was the NMI’s toughest opponent, co-coach Janelle Pangilinan said: “Everyone was our toughest opponent. But after beating Fiji, we knew our toughest battle was coming up next [against Australia and New Zealand]. But this was our first time entering a U19 competition. Two years ago, we wished we had a U19 team and two years later, here we are, winning a bronze medal.”