All the main news items
This month, young players from the Northern Marianas stepped out of the court’s playing lines this and onto the umpire’s chair for the first time, taking part in the Badminton Oceania Junior Umpire Award at the Crowne Plaza Oceania Masters in Paradise. The assessment gave these young athletes a genuine taste of what it takes…
As The Carpenters’ On Top of the World drifted through the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan last night, players from across Oceania and beyond gathered for one final celebration after seven days of badminton, friendship and island hospitality at the CROWNE PLAZA Oceania Masters in Paradise. Those themes were reflected by the tournament’s competitive champions, Nate’s…
Shaina Malonzo was sitting with her family as Typhoon Sinlaku stalled over Saipan. Then came a sound she will never forget. “We heard the roof tearing apart,” she said. “And it just flew away.” For the next several hours, the Northern Marianas national badminton player and high schooler huddled with her family beneath the only…
Shogo Ogawa came into Saipan with one goal: to win. He fell short at the YONEX Northern Marianas Open last week, but the Japanese player was determined to make sure the CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International would be different. “I needed to change my mindset. The first week I couldn’t play the way I wanted to,”…
The CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International may be one of Yuto Nakashizu/Mao Yamakita’s first international tournaments together, but their chemistry on court told a much older story. “We went to high school together, so rather than developing new partnerships it made sense to play together,” said Yamakita. The Japanese pair faced compatriots Mutsuki Ampo/Aya Tamaki in…
The Round of 16 at the CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International started hot, with several major names making an early exit, and one American underdog writing the day’s best story. Garret Tan (USA) has played every edition of the Saipan International, but a quarterfinal had eluded him until today. Standing in his way was Cheng Ju-Sheng…
When Naoya Kawashima/Kota Ogawa stepped onto the court this afternoon at the CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International, they knew they weren’t in for a regular match. Opposite them was a pair who had been around the world a few times — Alistair Casey and Mathew Fogarty are no strangers to the international scene. At 69, Fogarty…
The CROWNE PLAZA Saipan International began today, and there was no shortage of drama. In the first women’s singles match of the day, Kim Ga Ram (KOR) upset top seed Malvika Bansod (IND). Kim moved with speed and strength that made it difficult for Bansod to respond, closing out a clinical 21-11, 21-14 win over…
Park Seul knew she had a tough day ahead at the YONEX Northern Marianas Open. With two finals on the agenda, she needed to be at her sharpest from the first point to the last. In the first match of the day, the Korean athlete took to the court with Lee Hyeong Woo in the…
First to step on court, last to leave — Japan’s Tori Aizawa had two opportunities to reach the final round of the YONEX Northern Marianas Open today. In the men’s doubles, Aizawa and his partner Daisuke Sano overcame a slow start against Korea’s Hyun/Lee to keep their title hopes alive, winning 13-21, 21-12, 21-14. Later…