Asuncion joins last 32 in world badminton

Kennevic Asuncion pulled off a stirring 17-14, 15-8 upset victory over local bet Andrew Smith Tuesday to barge into the Last 32 of the IBF World Badminton Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

Ranged against the world’s No. 37, Asuncion didn’t flinch and survived the drawn-out first set before dominating the next to fashion out the 41-minute victory on Court 2 in an upset-marred opening round of the annual championships.

But the ace Filipino player will have his hands full against Korean Lee Hyun-il, the eighth-seeded player in the fold whom he will face in one of the Last 32 matches on Court 4 Wednesday.

However, Kennevic’s teamup with sister Kennie in the mixed doubles failed to produce the same result as the RP tandem dropped a 6-15, 9-15 loss to the Indonesian pair of Anggun and Eny.

Meanwhile, Kennevic’s fine start in the world tilt is expected to augur well for the top Filipino’s campaign in the upcoming JVC Open Badminton Championships which get underway Aug. 25 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.

Kennevic will be trying to reclaim the title he won in the inaugural staging of the event from last year’s winner Ian Piencinanes while Kennie is gunning for a third straight victory in the ladies singles of the elite category.

Registration for the week-long championships is ongoing, according to the IMG, the organizer of the tournament held under the auspices of the Philippine Badminton Association.

Events on tap in the event, sponsored for the third straight year by electronics giant JVC, are the juniors (14-under and 18-under), elite, celebrity, seniors and corporate with P20,000 and P15,000 staked in the doubles and singles, respectively, of the premier elite division.

The event is organized  by IMG and sponsored by JVC, Philippine Badminton Association, Pioneer Insurance, Gosen, Alaska Milk Corp., Gentxt, Tokyo Tokyo, Accel, Ayala Center, I-Ayala, Rudy Project, K-Lite 103.5 and the Philippine STAR.

For inquiries and registration forms, call up Nelson Asuncion (0917-5288970) Joan Enriquez (0918-5094845) or 751-6751; 751-6752; 751-6754.