All photos by Nathan Dean
In an amazing final match, surrounded by fans from both high schools, Malden’s Rin Hoang and Kevin Lin were able to beat Melrose’s Andy Wang and Zixi Zhou in an intense 16-14 match.
On October 17th, the Malden and Melrose High School Badminton Clubs met in the Finn gym for an entertaining competition. The competition would see around 16 doubles from both Malden and Melrose compete in a single-elimination bracket. All matches were best of one set, meaning the first team to earn 21 points wins, unless the opposing team has 20 points in which case a “win by two rule” was in place. However, some games were changed to the first to 15 in the interest of time.
The competition was open to groups of all skill levels, and as such there were some uneven pairings to begin the tournament. Nonetheless, beginner teams enjoyed learning the game and playing in a more serious setting. However, as teams were eliminated, the matches quickly became more competitive.
The second round would see a nail-biter match between Melrose’s Andy Wang and Zixi Zhou and Malden’s Agambir Singh and Editor-in-Chief of Print of the Blue and Gold Nathan Dean, author of this article. Wang and Zhou had quickly garnered support from Melrose fans as the best Melrose team, but Singh and Dean were able to take advantage of mistakes and maintain a lead for much of the match. The game would eventually end up tied 14 all and go into a sudden death win by two points. A series of good spikes would allow Wang and Zhou to win the match 17-15.
Left to right, top to bottom; student hitting birdie; two members of the Malden High Badminton Club participating in a match; two members of the Malden High Badminton Club preparing to return hit. NATHAN DEAN
Wang and Zhou would again need to face another tough opponent in their semi-final match, Malden’s Jason Chen and Khai Nguyen. Chen and Nguyen had proven themselves to be strong underdogs capable of battling with some of the best Malden teams. However, the match would need to be played on a different court. This small change seemed to throw Chen and Nguyen off, as both players hit many shots long. The game would end in a 15-3 win for Wang and Zhou earning them a place in the finals match. “The court was way too small,” said Chen. “It wasn’t really fair. If we played on a bigger court, we would have been the one destroying them.”
Favorites to win the tournament, Malden’s Hoang and Lin, quickly breezed through the bracket. In each game, the team fooled around and laughed and won almost without breaking a sweat. Within no time, they had earned themselves a spot in the championship match.
In a lucky stroke of events, it ended up Malden vs. Melrose to win it all in the final match: Wang and Zhou vs. Hoang and Lin. Fans from both high schools stood and cheered on opposite sides of the court. The game started slowly with some out-of-bounds hits but quickly heated up with some massive spikes from both sides. For the first time in the tournament, Hoang and Lin were forced to put their game faces on. For a while, Wang and Zhou maintained a consistent lead. Then, it seemed like Hoang and Lin had finally warmed up and quickly closed the gap.
Both teams jostled for the lead going back-and-forth with hard and well-placed shots to the enjoyment and cheers of the onlooking spectators. The game would eventually go to a win by 2 tiebreaker. However, a quick two points from Hoang and Lin would seal the win at 16-14. “I feel great,” Hoang said after the game, boastfully adding, “because the game was so easy.” Lin would show a more modest reaction, “I could have done better.” Both players were also not afraid to point out their mistakes, saying that their communication could have been a lot better.
The whole event was thanks to an out-of-the-blue email from the Melrose High School Badminton Club President Cadence L'Heureux to Malden High School’s advisor Joshua Sellers. L'Heureux, Sellers, and Malden Badminton Club President Susila Wong were able to communicate over email and set up the event and all of its logistics.
“While it was a lot of stress and did take a lot of planning, it was definitely worth it.”
“Overall, the event went really well,” said Sellers. “There was a nice mix of kids playing just for fun and kids playing competitively and I think everybody kind of had a chance to do whatever it is they wanted.” Looking forward to the future, Sellers is working on setting up another badminton tournament. “Fingers crossed we’ll be able to do something similar. We’re hoping we’ll be able to take our club over to Melrose and have a rematch maybe.”
As this was the first time the Badminton Club had competed against another school like this, things were a little chaotic. “While it was a lot of stress and did take a lot of planning, it was definitely worth it,” Sellers explained.
Other than cross-school competitions like this one, the Badminton Club at Malden High will continue to host meetings in the gym whenever it is available and is looking into creating a competition for only Malden High students.
For more information, please contact swong25@maldenps.org or jsellers@maldenps.org.
