More than 400 players, led by the brother-sister tandem of Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion, have already confirmed their participation in the event, doubling the field when the sponsoring JVC first staged the tournament in 2001, according to tournament director Nelson Asuncion during the PSA Forum yesterday.
"We’re really expecting to draw huge participation since the sport is fast gaining popularity," said Asuncion, who along with Philippine Badminton Association vice president Gen. Edgar Aglipay, Princess A. Galura of the International Management Group (img), graced the sports forum at Manila Pavilion.
"We’re beginning to gain the respect in the field of badminton," said Aglipay, noting the sudden rise in popularity and public acceptance of the sport which used to be dormant for years.
In fact, the organizing img has put up a three-day qualifier to accommodate the huge number of entries. The elims are set Aug. 22-24 at the PSC Badminton Hall at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Events on tap in the week-long tournament, sponsored by electronics giant JVC for the third straight year, are the elite section for men’s and women’s, juniors (18-and-under), seniors, corporate and celebrity. Organizers have added for the first time a division for 14-and-under aspirants with the aim of discovering new talents who could be tapped, trained and developed to become future national players.
The staging of the tournament that offers P15,000 to the singles champion and P20,000 to the doubles winner, is the prelude to the country’s hosting of the Asian satellite championships set Oct. 22-26.
Meanwhile, the Asuncion siblings have vowed to go all-out for a medal in the Southeast Asian Games set Dec. 5-13 in Hanoi, Vietnam, hoping to match the bronze medal feat by the ladies doubles pair of Kenny and former Olympian Amparo "Weena" Lim in the 1997 Jakarta edition of the biennial games.
"It’s going to be tough in Hanoi because the world’s best are competing there," said Kennie, a 26 year-old Tourism graduate at University of the Philippines.
"What we can do right now is to train harder and hope for the best from there," the 23-year-old Kennevic, for his part, added.