The 2024 Junior Varsity Badminton Open was held in the North Gym at Arcadia High School (AHS) on Mar. 2, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gym was filled with cheers as teams from 10 schools, including Mira Costa, East Valley, San Marino, Cerritos, and Diamond Bar High School came to showcase their badminton prowess.

The event started off with players diligently warming up for a half-hour, preparing themselves for the exciting matches ahead. The competition started with mixed doubles followed by girls’ and boys’ doubles and singles. Within each category, players are divided into two brackets: gold and silver. AHS won six out of the ten events held at the tournament. 

In the gold bracket, AHS secured 1st place in girls’ singles, boys’ singles, boys’ doubles, and mixed doubles as well as 2nd place in girls’ doubles. In the silver category, AHS won 1st in girls’ singles.

Junior Esther Xuan and freshman Jayden Cheung showcased remarkable skill and determination as they competed in the gold bracket for girls’ singles and boys’ singles respectively, ultimately winning their bracket. 

“I won every game in two sets, and I felt I played at the best level I could have played for my skill level and experience,” said Cheung. “I ended up winning first place in boys’ singles gold, edging out the second seed 21-11, 21-7 in the final match.”

“My first opponent was Evelyn from Mira Costa, and my last match was with my teammate Clara from AHS,” said Xuan. “I had fun cheering other AHS players on, and there was a lot of free food.”
Sophomore Lillian Gu who won first place in the gold division for mixed doubles found the competition nerve-wracking and exciting. Gu partnered with sophomore Brian Yuan during the matches.
“There were a lot of people, so the tension in the gym was a bit scary,” said Gu. “At first I was really nervous about my opponents in the first game, but as we started to play, it became a lot more enjoyable and exciting. Cheering on my teammates during their games was scary to watch whenever the scores were close, but in the end, we would mostly take the win and the players on [the] court would have a great experience in their games, no matter if the game was easy or intense.”
Instead of receiving medals or certificates for their victories, they were presented with a piece of paper that was used for scorekeeping.
“Although we got no medal, we gained bragging rights and self-confidence,” said Gu. 

Next up, on Mar. 22, AHS’ Badminton team will be playing against San Marino.

Photo by Rachelle Witarno