Asuncions open bids in Korea tourney

Siblings Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion begin their quest for berths in this year’s Olympic Games as they compete in the tough Korea Badminton Open which starts today in Inchon, South Korea.

The brother-sister tandem, a by-word in the local badminton scene for their countless feats here and abroad, left for Korea yesterday, hopeful of gaining points to boost their bid for spots in the Athens Games.

The Korean meet, set March 29-April 4, is the first stop of a four-country swing by the Asuncions, who are seeking to duplicate the feat accomplished by former sports commissioner Amparo "Weena" Lim, who made it to the 1996 Atlanta Games.

"Because of the new format, mas mahirap makapasok sa Olympics ngayon," said Nelson Asuncion, father and coach of Kennevic and Kennie.

"But we feel that Kennie and Kennevic have a strong chance of making it to the Olympics," he added.

From Korea, Kennie and Kennevic, whose trip is bankrolled by Albee Benitez of Bingo Bonanza, will proceed to Japan and then to Peru before winding up their campaign in Malaysia.

"Joining the Olympics has always been part of our dream," said Kennevic, who teamed up with Kennie in Hanoi, Vietnam last year to give the country its first-ever Southeast Asian Games medal with a bronze-medal finish.

The Asuncions are gunning for world ranking points in at least 10 IBF-sanctioned events where they are expected to fight it out with the world’s best for the 29 singles slots and 19 doubles berths each in the mixed, men’s and women’s divisions.

The Asuncions would know their fate by May.

"We’ll always give our best and hopefully we could do it," said Kennie, 28, and the highest-ranked Filipina in the world at 125th. — Joey Villar