Torres, Pangilinan are badminton singles champions

JOSEPH Torres and Janelle Pangilinan emerged victorious in their respective singles divisions of the 2021 CNMI Badminton National Championships that concluded  Saturday at the TSL Sports Complex.

In the men’s singles, Torres  defeated Ezekiel Macario in a third-set finale.

Torres controlled the first set. His ability to deliver consecutive smashes, regardless of the angle and range, was his biggest strength, forcing Macario to defend with light returns that  allowed Torres to  claim the first set 21-16.

In the second set, Torres was still  the aggressor and continued to deliver, but this time, Macario was able to withstand the onslaught and had an answer for every attack  thrown at him.

Torres, for his part, started committing crucial errors that eventually led to Macario claiming victory, 21-19, and forcing a third and final set.

The finale, however, was cut short with Torres leading 7-1 after Macario was forced to stop due to an injury.

Prior to the finals,  Torres  bested Jordan Pangilinan 13-21, 21-18, 21-15 while Macario took down Nathan Guerrero 21-17, 21-14.

Women’s singles

In the women’s singles, Janelle Pangilinan earned the title by defeating Hannah Choi in two sets.

Janelle utilized the best of her abilities which included a mix of offensive tactics.

Her strategy was to force lob returns using continuous smashes and forcing Choi to step away from the net.

This allowed Janelle to finish with a slick hairpin net shot which, if  returned with yet another lob, was met with a powerful smash that could not be answered. Janelle bagged the first set, 21-16.

In the second set, Choi stepped up her game unleashing  smashes that kept Janelle on her toes.

Janelle stuck to her strategy, but committed costly errors. In the end, however, Choi committed more errors that allowed Janelle to bring home the championship title, 21-18.

Before reaching the finale, Janelle defeated Lucelle Lampera and won 21-12, 21-4 while Choi was given a walkover to the finals.

Published by Marianas Variety – Dec 6, 2021