Tony Gunawan / Howard Bach are the MD WC2005 Champions!

Discussion in 'World Championships 2005' started by MikeJ, Aug 21, 2005.

  1. Ben_OCBC

    Ben_OCBC New Member

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    I spoke to Halim last week....He will be representing the U.S. next year :D /cheers
     
  2. badMania

    badMania Regular Member

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    My comments...

    Having watched the final of the MD, one thing I can say: this is "Tian Yi" (in Chinese, translated as Heaven's Will??) To think that an American pair can win the MD title in America is simply a fairy tale! I suppose you deserve the world title after you have beaten the world no 1, 2, and 4 in your way. Tony is simply unbeliavable..and Howard...raw but energetic! The crowd is as before...wild and rowdy.

    One mistake that Candra/Sigit never learnt from the previous matches involving team USA is the need to take control once the match started. I have stressed this in my post yesterday, yet, they failed to do so. Allowing the USA pairing to have a lead in the first set is almost suicidal and it was natural for them to concede the first set to team USA, just as the Danes and Luluk/Alven did.

    Candra/Sigit played much better in the second and was always in command. They should have played like that in the third, instead, the inability to regain control again proved fatal! Yes, they did lead 11-9, but that was the end of their effort. They simply couldn't believe that they lost to the supposedly inferior team USA. Again, another silver medal....I wonder how will this setback affect them.
     
  3. DaN_fAn

    DaN_fAn Regular Member

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    I would like to know HOW this win is being treated in the U.S[how much media coverage it is getting etc.]Someone from there plz give us the feedback.
     
  4. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    Yes, the U.S. and most countries allow dual or even multi-citizenship. However, in Indonesia, the rule doesn't allow such legality. "Legally", they only want 1 passport/citizenship. But I know many Indonesians who immigrated and have been naturalized to other coutries(ie. U.S.) hold 2 passports..It's all about money, as the Indonesian govt. want to make money by charging visa cost to non-Indonesian citizen coming in..

     
  5. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    As far as I could see, some major TV network / magazine did report the surprising win. However, there's no 5-page articles, but rather 1-2 short paragraphs.

    This is badminton WC, but almost 0 TV coverage in major TV network. If other sports, like basketball, football, baseball, gymnastics, figure skating etc, u will see tons of live matches at prime time on major TV network, as well as countless replay. :cool:
     
  6. ctjcad

    ctjcad Regular Member

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    The biggest newspaper in the L.A. area, L.A. Times, didn't even have the coverage on it's front page. Nor was it shown on the front page of the Sports section. Instead, there's a partial article on the 5th or 7th page of the Sports section.
    You can go to http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp...y?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true to find the article..or if you can't find it, here's the article(same one that cooler posted earlier)..

    August 22, 2005 latimes.com : Sports Print E-mail story Most e-mailed Change text size

    Promoting Badminton in His Own Backyard
    By Dan Arritt, Times Staff Writer


    The slight, well-dressed man in his 60s had a wider smile than usual Sunday night at the Arrowhead Pond.

    Watching Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach win the men's doubles title at the International Badminton Federation World Championships was like a dream come true for Don Chew.

    After winning the opening game, 15-11, and losing the second, 10-15, Gunawan and Bach rallied from an 11-9 deficit in the deciding game and defeated the Indonesian team of Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto, 15-11, to complete a historic week for American badminton.

    "Nine years ago, I wanted to bring the U.S. to this level," Chew said. "Now, we're in the picture."

    No American badminton player had won a medal in Olympic or world championship competition before this week, and Gunawan and Bach said they'd still be empty handed if not for the support of Chew. "He sacrificed a lot for badminton," Gunawan said before the championship match. "There's no way we'd be where we are without him."

    It was Chew who invested a big chunk of his family's small fortune to build the Orange County Badminton Club in Orange. The world-class facility, which opened in 1996, quickly began luring top players from the U.S. and other parts of the world.

    Bach, 26, moved from San Francisco to Orange five years ago to train at the facility. Gunawan, 30, left his native Indonesia in 2002, two years after winning a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. When Gunawan was first introduced to Chew, he was not only offered a coaching job at the center, but free room and board until he and his wife, Eti, could secure a place of their own.

    It was also Chew, as president of USA Badminton from 2000-2004, who helped bring the world championships to the United States for the first time last week. With 70% of IBF events held in China or Indonesia, it was a rare chance for U.S. players to be crowd favorites.

    "He's become one of my inspirations," Gunawan said of Chew. "His goal was to make badminton big in the U.S., and it has become my goal too."

    Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said Saturday he's convinced every Olympic sport would benefit from a training hub like the OCBC. As evidence, he pointed to U.S. fencing's success at the 2004 Olympics. Supported by clubs in Oregon and New York, the U.S. team produced its first gold medal in 100 years.

    "With good coaching and a good facility, you can develop great athletes in America," Ueberroth said.

    Chew likes to describe how badminton helped redirect his life at a young age. He smoked and drank while growing up in Bangkok, but once introduced to the sport, he learned how to turn discipline and strategy into success.

    Those traits carried over to the business world, where Chew has built a million-dollar printing business since immigrating to the U.S. in 1972.

    "The sport changed my life," he said.

    Chew began with a hamburger stand in Monrovia, then worked at a print shop. On the side, he started printing and selling labels to his own clients. Soon, he ran out of time for his other job and space in his Anaheim garage.

    When his daughter, Bebe, and son, Gus, played badminton at Anaheim Katella High in the early 1980s, Chew wanted to offer his time and knowledge, but couldn't escape work during the day. "I told myself, 'One of these days, if I make it, I'm going to build a badminton club,' " he said.

    When Chew's company, K&D Graphics, outgrew its second location, Chew found available land in Orange. In 1994, he purchased a plot a few blocks from the Pond and soon began looking for ways to finance the construction of a badminton club. After some odd looks from the city's planning commission, he gained approval and the doors opened two years later.

    The 12-court facility includes NBA-caliber flooring supported by two inches of padding, prime lighting and first-class locker areas. Even the air conditioning was designed so as not to disrupt the flight of the shuttlecock.

    "I've been everywhere and this is the best facility," Gunawan said.

    Chew remains an at-large director for USAB and continues donating thousands of dollars to the organization each year, even if it means putting off retirement from his printing company.

    Gunawan says he hopes his performance with Bach will provide some sort of payback.

    "He spent a lot of money and energy and time," Gunawan said. "I'm really glad that we were able to come this far."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    In the men's singles final, sixth-seeded Taufik Kidayat of Indonesia upset top-seeded Dan Lin of China, 15-3, 15-7.

    In women's singles, second-seeded Xingfang Xie of China defeated top-seeded Ning Zhang of China, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3, to win the title.

    In the mixed doubles final, fourth-seeded Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia rallied for a 13-15, 15-8, 15-2 victory over 11th-seeded Zhongbo Xie and Yawen Zhang of China.


     
  7. ymq03

    ymq03 Regular Member

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    Not much herer in Oregon. I did not see any coverage on newspaper Sunday and Monday. I went to a BBQ Saturday, Americans pulled out badminton set after BBQ (typical badminton thinking in USA). Then I just ask several of them around me whether they knew USA was in Semi-final and the world championship game was hold in USA. Everyone just looked at me and wonder ??? :confused: It is long way to get badminton into mainstream sport in USA, but yesterday USA win was definitely a good start.
     
  8. Solarwind

    Solarwind Regular Member

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    Coverage

    There was this from SI:
    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/more/08/22/badminton.finals.ap/

    One of our club members saw something on ESPN last night. They show the top 10 highlights of the day and I think the US win came in at #9. But no TV coverage. Actually I had to watch tennis instead. :crying: Federrer spanked Roddick, no suprise there.

    All I can say is that I hope this wakes more people in the US up.
     
  9. chibe_K

    chibe_K Regular Member

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    What an amazing mens doubles matche last night !!! When Tony/Howard beat the Malaysian pair, I thought it was pure luck. When Tony/Howard beat the Danes, I thought it was due to the draft. After last night's matches, I was speechless. I am convinced now, they played like a champ and they deserved it !!! Tony Gunawan was in command the whole time, sort of Michael Jordan of NBA to me.

    I have lots of respect for Tony Gunawan, he only been here two years and already made a huge impact. As for Howard, I do not think I respect his behavior on the court, making all kinds of gesture to make the crowd go wild appear to be very unprofessional to me. No other players did that. Like those guys sitting next to me said "I like to cheer for US but because of Howard, I could not do it".

    In any case, congratulation to Tony and Howard ! They are now world no. 1 !
     
  10. BethuneGuy

    BethuneGuy Regular Member

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    Badminton needs a roddick, sharapova, beckham, iverson, ali, kournikova, etc somebody they can sell. Howard Bach's charisma on court is good, firing up the crowd.
     
  11. blindspots

    blindspots Regular Member

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    I brought my kids to the WC for them to find out what kind of sport their dad is wasting time on. Ho-hum they got bored the first three matches until Howard Bach showed all fired up, they started slapping the free thunderclap and shouting USA USA. We love Howard Bach. :p
     
  12. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i was chatting with one of the reporters that i saw opposite at (who btw, is also a BC member... ;) ). he is an American and a new fan of badminton and while we chatted, he made an interesting comment during our chat. he says that he found many of the lady badminton players rather attractive, some are even more attractive than the tennis players. he believe what is needed is the marketing and they will become equally big stars like the tennis ones.
     
  13. Qidong

    Qidong Regular Member

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    I think the female tennis players are too muscular. Female badminton players look more normal.
     
  14. USAer

    USAer Regular Member

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    www.usoc.org

    Goto to the U.S. Olympic Team website for latest story on Tony and Howard. Here's the latest:

    Gunawan, Bach talk about their world title
    // U.S. Olympic Team // August 22, 2005
    Visit USA Badminton

    On Sunday, August 21, Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach made history, as they won the 2005 World Badminton Championship. No American badminton player or team had ever finished higher than 16th in competition, but Gunawan & Bach defeated the # 8, #1, #4 and #2 seeds in consecutive nights to earn the World Championship title.
    Bach competed in the 2004 Olympics with a different partner, and Gunawan won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, competing for Indonesia. In the final match, Gunawan was playing against his former partner whom he had won the gold medal with five years ago.

    Gunawan and Bach spoke, along with USA Badminton Executive Director Dan Cloppas, about their win and the sport of badminton.

    Q1: Can you summarize your thoughts on winning the world title?

    TONY GUNAWAN: Its like a dream come true to come to the United States to try to promote this sport. Yesterday was unbelievable. We didn’t expect that we were going to win, but we won anyway. It was really incredible and amazing yesterday.

    HOWARD BACH: Let’s put it this way. Last night I stepped on the court with three legends that I normally watch on my VHS and DVDs. To be a part of history, to actually be a world champion at home is definitely amazing and so surreal. Looking back in the Olympics, I wish I would have done a little bit better. So, a year later, here I am.

    Q2: What does this win mean to USA Badminton and the sport of badminton in the U.S.?

    DAN CLOPPAS: As Howard amply put last night at his press conference; we’re out of the backyard barbeque syndrome. I think the people in America certainly have an appreciation for what it takes to be an athlete in this sport. After watching those three grueling matches last night, I don’t know how they even walked off the court, much less played. This is huge for USA Badminton. Now I think children in grade school are going to start looking at the sport differently and saying, ‘Maybe I don’t want to go into basketball or football. I want to be like Tony and Howard.’ That’s amazing when the sport can reach that point.

    Q3: What was the atmosphere like last night? Was there an advantage playing in the U.S.?

    HOWARD BACH: First of all, it blew my mind to be playing on Sunday, in the finals match. It has been a long, gruesome seven days, and to be a part of last night with 10,000 plus fans right behind you throughout the whole three games was definitely a dream come true. I still think I am dreaming right now. I try to play to my advantage. I am an underdog, Tony and I. I am the no-namer amongst to the other three on the court, and I had everything to prove. Last night I just went out there enjoyed, had fun and never looked back. The crowd was right behind me. There was a big-time advantage.

    Q4: Tony, you came here with a great reputation. Are you surprised that coming to the United States you would become a champion this quickly?

    TONY GUNAWAN: Yeah, I am really surprised, and I want to give a lot of credit to Howard. This week, he played incredible, and he can cover everything for me in the back. It is surprising because I think players here have the ability to be champions. There are such little, little things they need to work on to make them a champion.

    Q5: Howard, how did you get into the sport?

    HOWARD BACH: I first started badminton at the age of 5 at the local YMCA. That’s how I picked the sport. My dad used to love playing it back in Vietnam. It was actually his dream to make the Olympics representing Vietnam. He never had the time or the opportunity. I imposed this burned upon me, and hopefully, I can achieve it for him. Ever since then, I never looked back. I just try to enjoy the game as much as I can and live up to my dad’s expectations. Last night, I did.

    Q6: Tony, when did you leave Indonesia, and what brought you here?

    TONY GUNAWAN: I came here almost four years ago to continue my studies. I am studying computer engineering at Devry. At that time, I met Mr. Chew, and he was really generous offering me a job in his club to become a coach and player. He also shared his dream to help badminton grow in the United States. That has also become my goal now.

    Q7: Tony, was the World Championships your last major event and what’s the status of your green card?

    TONY GUNAWAN: My status right now is becoming a citizen right now in the United States. I already got approved, but the real green card has not come yet. Right now, I’d like to compete in the Olympics in three more years, but that is far. I take it year by year. Three years is quite far. Right now I am 30, and in three more years, I will be 33. This sport you need stamina and physical everything. You cannot fight against your age. Let’s see what happens.

    Q8: What was your goal going into the World Championships?

    HOWARD BACH: Coming into the Championships, our target was to medal and actually make history. As the week proceeded, we played better everyday and exceeded our expectations. Just medaling and getting the bronze is no longer our goal now.

    Q9: Is there a home-court advantage in badminton?

    DAN CLOPPAS: Yes, definitely. I watched these guys last night. It was a slugfest, and it went three long matches. I thought they were going to throw in the towel when it was 9-9 in the third game, and it was so intense. All the sudden the crowd just swelled, and these guys got re-energized and closed it out. Tony has been in those situations before. He knows what it is like. The Pond was really rocking last night.

    HOWARD BACH: Throughout the whole entire week, I fed on the crowd and the energy they bring to me during every game and match along the way. I felt like there were times where we competed against Malaysia, Denmark, Indonesia and we were down, but the crowd had faith and confidence in us. Just to be able to feel what the crowd wants you to do on the court, which is to succeed and win the gold medal, I felt it and used it to my advantage. The crowd played a big role.

    Q10: What was the first thing that went through your head when it was all over?

    HOWARD BACH: I was enjoying last night so much, that I felt like it was just another practice game. I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t just about stepping onto the court and winning a medal. I came out and intended to do that, but love the game so much. To be able to have that opportunity to show the world that Americans love that sport as well is what I was feeling last night.

    Q11: Howard, was your win last night even bigger because it came on American soil?

    HOWARD BACH: It means a lot to me. In order to showcase badminton in the U.S., what better place can you have it? Last night was brilliant. The crowd was there. You just can’t beat it. The whole world was tuning in. We had Asia, Europe and everyone watching, but the most important part was the fans in the U.S. in the closed-in, live experience. That means a lot.
     
  15. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    that was a good read USAer, thanks.
    I hope canada get infected too.
     
  16. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Dual language commentary: left channel dutch, right channel english. In windows media player choose "view", "enhancement" -> "graphic equalizer". Then shift balance to either left or right.

    wc.2005.md.final_Gunawan.Bach_-_Wijaya.Budiarto
    More vids in the video section.
    [double post, remove this one please]
     
    #56 demolidor, Aug 22, 2005
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2005
  17. demolidor

    demolidor Regular Member

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    Dual language commentary: left channel dutch, right channel english. In windows media player choose "view", "enhancement" -> "graphic equalizer". Then shift balance to either left or right.

    wc.2005.md.final_Gunawan.Bach_-_Wijaya.Budiarto
    More vids in the video section (in the p2p thread).
     
  18. cooler

    cooler Regular Member

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    this reminded me yesterday watching it on star sport.
    The players and translator were talking in indonesian/cantonese, the lady interviewer was talking in english, and the star sports commentators were yapping it in mandarian. My head was spinning :eek:
     
  19. T-rex

    T-rex Regular Member

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    why don't u cry for ardy wiranata, rexy, marlvene mainaky , mia audina too? or is it they longer are useful to INA and u don't care about them anymore?[/QUOTE]

    Remember Mia Audina after she moved to holland?
    when she played in indonesia open,some indo audience threw some bottle for her and when she started to serve some audience said HUUUUUUUU. I can't imagine if Tony in indonesia.
    believe it or not almost all my friend and my teachers watched this match yesterday. we were so glad when llyana/nova and taufik hidayat won :D
    and then.......:crying: some of my friend very disappointed when tony/bach won.
    sure for now in indonesia there is assuming that tony doesn't love his own country.:rolleyes:

    I'm sure that he still love indonesia, Tony said that after he finishing his study in the US, he will back again to indonesia. and the most important is tony's wife is indonesian too.

    I'm sorry is my english is bad
     
  20. taneepak

    taneepak Regular Member

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    The current trend of ex-Indonesian players leaving their shores to play for other countries is not something new. They are just following the path of the first great migration of Indonesian players to China in the sixties. Without these first pioneers who went to China, do you really think China would know what badminton is, let alone dominate it? Badminton to China in the fifties and sixties was what cricket is to them now. I hope this larger perspective throws some light.
     

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