2008 USBDF Winter Junior International Championships... ..so, i swung by this afternoon and yep, they're all there...all 300+ kids... The future of badminton in the North American region.. Some came from our neighbor Canada, some from South/Latin America but most of them came from the U.S., with Northern and Southern California regions making up most of the participants. I heard the Bintang Club's kids are really good.... Anyway, here are some pics of today's action to share; sorry, i didn't stay the entire time..enjoy! I know one cute kid who really had a blast..(i just want to piiiiiiinch her cheeks!!)
Okay, guessing game now... Does anyone from Calgary...akhem, yes, you know who you are....know this young lad?? He plays MS & is pretty good....and is that his sister, in the pic below??..i know he has 4 other siblings.. And does anyone from S'pore recognize this young lad, below. His name is Christian/Kristian (forgot the last name) from Indonesia (Bandung). I met and chatted briefly with him (and his dad) and he told me he was about to enter S'pore's Junior National squad when he decided to come to the U.S. He did train in Mutiara Club in Bandung, prior to him going to S'pore, where he also played for his school's team. I'd say he's pretty good, stroke wise, at least much better than the kids his age. And he's not even 18 yrs old, yet.
Lo and behold... Does anyone recognize this charming young man??... oh..kwun, Holvy said "Hi" to you!!(yes, he came with his bride). but soon after, he's back to work, as a coach..
And last but not least... There i was, fooling around with very high ISO settings... ..in the 6400 and 12800 range~thus the grainy pics..fo sho, high ISO ain't tight, ain't cuttin' it and ain't workin'...even with a fast lens.. *I'll let you guys guess what camera i was using...
^^I think she might be better in Singles..^^ ..cos she and her partner lost in straight sets against another pretty good pair (who i think is also from NorCal)..Man, those NorCal kids are getting better & better, esp. the younger ones....I hope to see Brandon and Justin on the circuit soon!!!..
yeah. i think she is a singles player. she won the GS National of her age group last (this?) year. she is only 14/15 so lots of future.
She's 14. And she beat me last week. I remember when she was twelve, she beat Jennifer Coleman, who was on the national team at the time. I was in awe. Definitely one to watch out for.
according to tournamentsoftware, Karine is in the U15 doubles final with partner Sharon Ng. They did lose the first set in their semifinal match, though. Maybe that's causing some confusion?
haha yes thats martin giuffre and thats one of his sisters christina giuffre if memory serves me well
wew hi ko christian...thats my name too..haha..we had the same name.. thanks for posting my picture too...haha...n keep posting ok..
Hey, you guys.. ..yep, she is Karine Hsu(?). Btw, the pair that she & her partner lost to (in U-17 XD) was from Canada, not from NorCal. Those Canadian players are pretty good (for their age)....good for all!! ..yes...thanks, smash_master, for confirming (i knew their names, but wanted to hear other Canadians confirm it) Hope to see him(his siblings) in upcoming/future U.S. Open tourneys! ..were you in the tournament??... ..ah-hah-ha...no where to hide for me, too conspicuous... Btw, Chris, where did you find out about this site?? from friends??..Welcome and although this forum seems big, feel free to roam around (lots of S'poreans here)-- Unfortunately those are the only pics i took, sorry; maybe next time i'll take more. Hope you and the others had lots of fun!... *keep in touch-
wew haha..yea no worries... and well find out from ka Holvy...he told me this site hmm like 2 days ago...while we were at the ocbc... its ok...capture more photos next time ko...haha...not mine i mean.. ok keep in touch..if u want my facebook or my msn u can have it too...n u can add at christian_yahya@yahoo.com...and for the msn ndutz_co@hotmail.com,,,thx...
U15 Girls Karine has been improving her double game. She and her partner Sharon Ng were 2nd place in Junior National this year. However, they won the U15 GD this time in the winter USBDF. http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=25795&draw=28 Karine is also in U17GS semi-final. Her partner - Sharon Ng won 2nd place in the U15GS, lost to Iris Wang. Sharon also won the U15MX with Michael Buasan, and of course U15GD with Karine. The U15 girls are very strong, they won the first, second, and 3/4 in PanAm this year. Girls like Iris Wang, Emily Kan, Claudia Hardi, Samantha Li and Cherie Chow(she is actually U13) are all very strong.
Sounds good.. to christianyahya (Chris) : okay, thanks for the infos. to beachbuff : Sounds cool! Hope to see more of Karine and the other NorCal gals & guys in future tourneys (e.g. U.S. Open)
Sorry.. ..sorry, don't have any pic of your kids, harimau...maybe they're a bit camera shy this time.. (harimau was asking for any pic of his kid(s))
Karine and her partner Sharon Ng won the U19 JIT in GD. As a result, they made to the US junior team in 2010 World Junior Championship and 2010 Junior PanAm this year.