Lin Dan Exhibits Skills at 
       the Arcadia Badminton Court




China's top men's singles player Lin Dan, together with team mate and world number nine men's singles player Bao Chunlai and their coaches Li Yong Bo and Tian Bing-Yi, visited the Arcadia Badminton Club August 31 where they displayed their superb badminton skills in front of So-Cal badminton players and enthusiasts.

Lin Dan is ranked only number six by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) compared to Lee Chong Wei, who is now world number one.  In the two's meetings, however, Lin Dan already bested Chong Wei 14 times as against the latter's record of only six against Lin Dan.  The most significant meeting of the two was in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where Lin Dan beat the Malaysian to win the gold medal.

Unlike Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan participated in fewer tournaments which accounts for his ranking as number six only. Other players ranked above him, like Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat, also fare low against the Chinese in their head-to-head matches.  

The Chinese team just came from the World Championships in Paris, France which started August 23, where China won all five titles.  Lin Dan, however, who was a three time world champion, did not reach the finals when he was beaten by Korea's Sung Hwan Park.  Another upset came when Lee Chong Wei's path to the finals was blocked by Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat.

              

               NCR Sparrows Claims 
           Victory at Is-Mashan 2010

PBCA's second Is-Mashan team tournament successfully concluded August 21 with the National Capital Region (NCR) Sparrows emerging as champion with a narrow margin against Luzon Aguilas, which scored 18 points against Sparrows's 19 points.

The scores between Sparrows, Aguilas and Visayas Express were neck to neck as each team's members competed in intense matches.  Express, which also garnered 18 points, came on the heels of Aguilas because it lost against Aguilas during their confrontation in the first event.

Meanwhile, Mindanao Robins suffered a huge setback in the third event where it only scored 1 point against Aguilas.  This loss took a huge toll on the Robins by ending up with a total score of only 9.

The Is-Mashan, which means smashing each other, is one of PBCA's annual team tournaments which started after the club's founding in 2009.  Indeed, the event lived true to its name as each team pounded each other with their members' smashes to get the coveted team trophy and medals.

For a listing of the results click here.

 
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