Smashing success!

I had the once in a lifetime chance to witness a world class event in Manila on July 12 to 14, 2005. It was the staging of the 1st MVP Cup at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra).

It was a dream come true for a baddict (badminton addict) such as myself to watch my idols in a world class match to win the MVP Cup plus a cash prize of US $50,000 for the winning team. The loser gets a US $30,000 consolation prize.

The tournament was a match-up between Team Asia and Team Europe.

Team Asia was represented by no less than the top players from China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Philippines. Among the most notables was Lin Dan of China who is currently the number 1 ranked male singles player in the world. He was joined by compatriot Zhang Ning who is currently the 2nd ranked female singles player in the world and the current 2004 Olympics champion. The most famous and endearing to Filipinos was Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia who is the current Olympics champion and 8th ranked male singles player. Our home grown talents Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion will play in the mixed doubles on the third day. They are currently ranked 24th in the mixed doubles category fresh from a win in the Peru Open.

Team Europe was represented by the no. 1 ranked mixed doubles players Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms of England. They are joined by Pi Hongyan of France who is currently the 3rd ranked female singles player in the IBF rankings. Yao Jie of of Netherlands will be playing on the 2nd day of the tourney in the 2nd ladies' singles event. She is currently the 4th ranked female singles player. The most notable among the players in Mia Audina also of Netherlands. She hails from Jakarta but migrated to Netherlands a few years back. She is the current European Champion.

As expected, the matches on the first day was a lopsided one in favor of Team Asia. Zhang Ning won over Mia Audina in straight sets in the first female singles event as Taufik Hidayat also won over Anders Boesen of Denmark also in two straight sets in the first male singles event. Chan Chong Ming and Koo Kian Keat of Malaysia won over Nathan Robertson and Robert Blair of England in 3 sets. Robert Blair committed most of the errors which gave the match to Team Asia.

The 2nd day was a different story altogether. As expected, Lin Dan played with perfection against Bjoern Joppien of Germany. It was amazing to watch the world no. 1 execute superb, precise, and deceptive shots. The German was totally outclassed that all he could do was shake his head and raise up his arms in disbelief every time Lin Dan kills the shuttlecock.

But that was as far as Team Asia could win on the 2nd day. In the 2nd ladies' singles event, Pi Hongyan of France defeated Seo Yoon Hee of South Korea in two straight sets. Mia Audina partnered with Gail Emms to win over the Thai pair Saralee Thungthongkam and Sathinee Chankrachangwong also in straight sets. It was a surprising win for Mia and Gail who have never played together before over the no. 5 ranked women's doubles players in the world.

The highlight of the tournament was unexpectedly the 1st match of the 3rd day. The match was between our very own Kennie and Kennivic Asuncion vs. the no. 1 mixed doubles pair of Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms. The shouts of the audience probably made a lot of difference. The endless cheers of the Pinoys egged on Kennie and Kennivic to do their best that they almost did the unbelievable feat of defeating the no. 1 pair in the 2nd set. Kennivic was jumping for joy when they had match point at 14-13. Everyone was on their feet cheering loudly as ever0. I already lost my voice cheering for our players that all I could do was stomp my feet in disbelief. Although our local heroes eventually lost in the 3rd set at 15 - 1, it was no shameful feat to have played their best in the first two sets. Nathan was even mimicking a digging action with his racket at one point when he was at a loss for what to do to beat our players.

The last two matches were a showcase of powerhouse China's dominance in the sport. Zhang Ning totally outclassed no. 4 ranked Yao Jie of Netherlands as Lin Dan was like doing drills with Anders Boesen.

The final outcome of the tournament was expectedly won by Team Asia. But more than the convincing win by Asia over Europe was the smashing success of the 1st ever MVP Cup held in our country. I am sure that the players enjoyed the tournament as did the audience and the tournament sponsors. Kudos to Mr. Manny Pangilinan for staging this event in our country. Hope this will be one of the main events in the IBF tournament circuit. ([email protected])