Milpitas High School open gym?

Badminton lifted by sport's appeal
by Sarah Holcomb
Article Launched: 03/14/2007 02:48:02 PM PDT

Racquets are up and shuttlecocks are flying in the Milpitas High School gymnasium, as the varsity badminton team takes on Saratoga High School today and Monta Vista High School next week.

Head Coach Thien Hua said the team will face a tough schedule at the season's onset. The team fell to Lynbrook High School last week and he expects Saratoga and Monta Vista to be tough matches as well.

The team tied for third place in its first year in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. After claiming the El Camino Division championship two years ago, the team was promoted to the De Anza Division.

Hua hopes to finish in the top three again, especially since the team is more athletic than last year's squad.

"It's a very aerobic sport, it's demanding," he said. "The movements are explosive and are more draining than tennis."

Hua said the team has benefited from the region's growing interest in the sport. With badminton clubs such as Smash City of Milpitas opening, it allows the players to practice the game year-round and compete against athletes of all skill levels.

Like tennis, the players compete in singles and doubles matches for both genders, but an event that is unique to badminton is the mixed doubles, where a boy and a girl play together.

Hua expects the boys doubles team of Galdino Rosas and Andy Quach to be dominant this year as well as the mixed doubles pair of George Hong and Tai Pham. Rosas and Quach took third in the Central Coast Section tournament last year and Hua said the pair is the team's best hope for section play.

The team will play at Saratoga High School today at 3:30 p.m., then at Monta Vista on Tuesday.