With tennis, baseball, and track and field all leading the competition, badminton is often overlooked. The team is off to an undefeated start and rolling over the competition. CIF playoffs start on May 8th and this could be the first Arcadia team ever to win it all.

This experienced team is led by captains Max Li, Amy Sha and Kenneth Tjhan. As remarked by Kenneth, “This season marks the badminton team’s third year in existence, and it has been nothing short of amazing. A majority of our players have been together for two to three years now, and we have developed chemistry with each other. We have also gotten significant amounts of new talent, which has undoubtedly contributed to our success this season.”

For those of you who may not know a lot about badminton, here is a short lesson. A match consists of the best of three games of 21, and every time there is a serve, there is a point scored. The side winning a rally adds a point to its score. In a “20 All” game, the side that gains a two-point lead wins the game. In a “29 All” game, the side that scores 30 points takes the game.

Talking to sophomore Kevin Yoo, he noted that the team has been practicing on more aggressive drills to win games such as smash and net drops. Through continued conditioning, the team trains to beat other high school teams. Accuracy, speed, and strength are all important facets that have contributed to Coed Varsity Badminton’s win streak.

In this month alone, the team has won six straight games in a row. Counting its ten previous victories, that’s 16 games in a row of flawless badminton match executions. From schools such as South Pasadena and Mark Keppel, with scores of 19-2 and 21-0 respectively, to Alhambra and San Marino, with scores of 20-1 and 17-4 respectively, Arcadia Badminton cannot be stopped. For all the games Coed Varsity Badminton has participated in, the team has had at least a five-point margin of victory.

With only just a week to prepare for CIF, the team has been working nonstop. All of three games is what lies in between the team and CIF finals. Junior Alan Wu has been continually preparing to keep himself above the competition, training himself to increase his stamina during matches. Kenneth also remarks that as “ we move into the playoffs, we hope to be able to win it all this year. It will certainly be a tough task against Diamond Bar High School, which has been a perennial powerhouse, but we are certainly determined to make our mark. A number of our varsity players are also going to be participating in the CIF Southern Section individual finals, which pits the best players from all over Southern California against each other in their respective events (singles, doubles, mixed doubles).”

The captains themselves have undoubtedly pushed everyone on the team to their max to ensure everyone is in peak shape and performance. With an undefeated record, Coed Varsity Badminton looks in terrific shape to sweep CIF and take the number one spot. We wish the best of luck Apaches!

Photo by JOSIE CHEN