Badminton team off to U19 World Champs and training camp

The NMI Junior Badminton National Team is off to the U19 Yonex BWF World Junior Championships 2024 in Nanchang, China.

The dozen players consisting of six girls and six boys are competing against the best of the best junior badminton players in the mixed team relay (Suhandinata Cup) from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5.

The boys team is made up of Sean Dizon, Marlon Bautista Jr., Dave Odicta, Jude Mallari, Brandon Manacop, and J.P. Delos Reyes, while the girls team consists of Lina Tsukagoshi, Shaina Malonzo, Genelyn Lansangan, Ruth Charmaine Bautista, Angela Maratas, and Abigael Robles. They are joined by coaches Nathan Guerrero and Janelle Pangilinan and team manager Ezekiel Macario.

Nations in the mixed team relay Group F with the NMI include Indonesia, Poland, Sri Lanka, and Macau, China. On Monday, Sep. 30, the NMI is facing off against Poland and Indonesia; and on Wednesday, Oct. 2, they are taking on Macau, China and Sri Lanka.

Not only are they there for competition, they are also participating in the Badminton World Federation Youth Athlete Development Training Camp from Sep. 26-28.

According to BWF, the training camp aims to provide talented junior badminton players from developing national federations the opportunity to train with coaches from developed badminton nations in preparation for the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2024 in Nanchang China.

In addition to badminton and performance sessions, the training camp would also include education, leadership, and integrity workshops. These workshops aim to prepare the players for their professional badminton career and beyond.

On what’s expected of the team in the competition, Guerrero said, “The expectation is for the kids to gain experience and learn from what the best has to offer. These guys in this competition are the best of the best in the world for U19. All the former No. 1s in the world and the current best player in the world came from this competition.”

As for the mindset, the NMI National Badminton player/coach said, “The mindset is the same in regards to competing and that’s to give it all we got. It’s an amazing opportunity and we will make the best of this. We won’t lose—we’ll learn.”