Olympic qualifiers ‘big deal for badminton in CNMI’

From left, Tan Holdings Corp. president and CEO Jerry Tan, Badminton Oceania CEO Julie Carrel, Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Merlie Tolentino, Crowne Plaza general manager Robert Coates, TakeCare Insurance Health Plan manager Nora Fejeran, top seed Kevin Cordon of Guatamala, Australia’s Gronya Somerville, South Korea’s Son Wan Ho, and NMI’s Janelle Pangilinan attend the press conference of the two Olympic badminton qualifiers—the TakeCare Saipan International 2023 and the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Northern Marianas Open 2023—last Monday night at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. (LEIGH GASES)

Sponsors and organizers of two Olympic badminton qualifiers—the TakeCare Saipan International 2023 and the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Northern Marianas Open 2023—along with badminton players competing in the tourney, gathered for a press conference Monday night at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

Tan Holdings Corp. president and CEO Jerry Tan, Badminton Oceania CEO Julie Carrel, Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Merlie Tolentino, Crowne Plaza general manager Robert Coates, TakeCare Insurance Health Plan manager Nora Fejeran, top seed Kevin Cordon, Australia’s Gronya Somerville, South Korea’s Son Wan Ho, and NMI’s Janelle Pangilinan attended the press conference.

Tolentino said from a recreational sport that started on Saipan in 2009, they never imagined that one day they would host a big tournament such as the Olympic qualifiers and that it’s a “really big deal… We really did not know in the beginning what to expect, but we are here now and we’re embracing it. We’re overwhelmed, but we’re managing well, of course with the help of Badminton Oceania.”

Carrel said that the qualifiers are held here as a direct result of the success of the 2022 Pacific Mini Games. As for Tan, he thanked Carrel and her team for their support in helping to carry out the success of badminton during the Mini Games. He said, “I never imagined the international tournament is really happening here a year later… I hope that this is the beginning of many more international competitions across different sports.”

“We would like to welcome all the players from 19 countries and five continents. It’s amazing that we have these many players coming in and most of them are staying for the whole two weeks. So, hopefully this is the beginning of many sports tourism activities,” Tan said.

Coates, for his part, thanked Badminton Oceania for bringing the event to Saipan. “It’s a really exciting event…and we’re very excited to be a part of it… We’ve got visitors here for a good two week period so we’re grateful to the community and the team, and we’re delighted to be supporting the athletes. We wish them all the best and this is a fantastic event for the CNMI.”

Fejeran said “this is very momentous for the CNMI as we don’t normally have events like this hosted here, so we are very grateful for all the organizers… TakeCare is really honored to be part of this event. Something like this again, doesn’t happen all the time here in the CNMI. To all the volunteers, we are very grateful for all the time and effort that they have put into organizing this event. Thank you and welcome.” 

In the Q&A portion for the athletes, Pangilinan was asked what it meant to compete in the Olympic qualifiers, and she said “I would say it’s a really good opportunity for the NMI and especially for the NMI players. This went from playing against Guam, to regionals only, to Oceania, and now getting this experience to play at an international level is definitely a memory that all of us in the NMI and also all the players will never forget.”

“I hope that it will encourage others, especially the youth that want to develop in badminton. And hopefully we get to play in the Olympics one day. So honestly, it’s going to be a great opportunity to see all these countries live instead of watching their YouTube channel and hope it goes well,” she said.

Somerville was asked what she plans to achieve in badminton, and she said “I think a lot of us here the main goal in the immediate future is the 2024 Paris Olympics—so, qualifying for that. The qualification period started at the start of May this year until April next year. So, just play a lot of tournaments, try to improve our level, and get some good ranking points to qualify for that.”

“Personally for me, I’d love to qualify for the Olympics and then have games in my hometown in Victoria… and enjoy traveling and improving is my ultimate goal,” Somerville said.

The Olympic qualifiers welcomed 179 players from 19 different countries. The Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Northern Marianas Open 2023 is the first qualifier that started yesterday, June 6, and will last until Sunday, June 11. The TakeCare Saipan International 2023 is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13 to Sunday, June 18.

They then thanked the following sponsors, TakeCare Insurance, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, IT&E, D&Q, GPPC, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Saipan Computer Services and Ideal Signs, Marianas Visitors Authority, Marianas Variety, Island Apparel, Joeten Motors, Traders Insurance, Pacifica Insurance Underwriters, Cup Bab, Bridge Capital LLC, Shirley’s Coffee Shop, MarPac, Northern Marianas Sports Association, Pepoy’s Cafe and Restaurant, Sun Palace, Vicky Izuka, Saipan Ice, First Hawaiian Bank, Docomo Pacific,  USA Fanter, Joeten Enterprises, Hong Ye Construction, Joeten DaiDai Foundation and J’s Restaurant.

They also thanked Badminton Oceania and Badminton World Federation for the support and the opportunity to bring the qualifiers to the CNMI.

Yesterday’s action at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium took place from 3pm to 9pm. Catch today’s action from 10am to 9pm; tomorrow’s games are from 12pm to 9pm; and Friday is from 1pm to 9pm. Semis matches on Saturday will be from 1pm to 9pm, while finals in the men’s and women’s singles and men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles are slated for Sunday, June 11, from 12pm to 5pm. The same schedule will be in effect for the TakeCare Saipan International 2023.