Shaina Malonzo, Marlon Bautista win U17 badminton titles

Article from Marianas Variety (mvariety.com)

SHAINA Malonzo and Marlon Bautista concluded the two-day NMI Badminton National Championships by winning U17 division titles at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium on Saturday.

Malonzo bagged gold in the U17 girl’s singles and the girl’s doubles event.

In the U17 girl’s singles, Malonzo bested her teammate, Genelyn Lansangan, in three thrilling sets.

Both athletes gave it their all with Lansangan outlasting Malonzo in the first set, 21-19. Malonzo then edged Lansangan in the second set, 21-20, to force a third and final set.

Neither was able to gain the upper hand until the final few possessions, when Malonzo, with relentless pressure complemented by powerful smashes and smart placements, defeated Lansangan 21-18 to secure the U17 girls’ singles title.

With Lina Tsukagoshi, Malonzo went undefeated with three wins in a round-robin event to claim the girl’s doubles title while Charmaine Bautista and Lansangan settled for second place with two wins.

Malonzo said her singles match against Lansangan was “actually scary because I practiced with her before and all the others I’ve played against today. I’ve actually had a lot of losses during those times, so I was expecting not to do well, but after I tried, I did my best and got it.”

She praised her teammate Tsukagoshi for coaching her. “She was the best coach. She was the person who helped me do my best and win the tournament,” Malonzo said. “It feels great knowing how I consider myself not to be the best player in the NMI or in general, but noticing how I won the tournament, it amazed me.”

Taking the U17 boys singles title was Marlon Bautista, who disposed Joseph Yang in two sets.

The first set was controlled by Bautista, who barely gave Yang any room to recover, to claim the win with ease, 21-10.

In the second set, Yang played more aggressively, but Bautista proved superior in all aspects, ultimately securing a 21-14 victory to bring home the title.

As for the boys doubles title match, Bautista and Sernantie Jimenez outclassed Danielle Mulinyawe and Evan Seguritan in two sets, 21-13, 21-19.

In the 45-and-over division, Patrick Fernandez and Tom Chen claimed the men’s doubles title as they went undefeated with three wins in the round-robin competition while Yoko Borja and Sun Ja Kim bagged the women’s doubles title with an unblemished record of three wins.