Gunawan-Wijaya pair exudes confidence

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Two days before world-class badminton action unwraps
at the Philsports Arena, the world No. 6 pair of
American Tony Gunawan and Indon partner Candra Wijaya
said they like their chances in the men’s doubles
event of the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open which
begins Wednesday (July 18).

That despite the looming presence of world No. 2 pair
of Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan of Malaysia and a
slew of others out to spoil the big guns’ party.
“We have a good chance here,” said Gunawan during a
break in practice Monday. “We really want to win here
and I hope everything goes well.”

How far would the Gunawan-WIjaya pair go will be known
tomorrow when they take on the Malaysian pair of Ming
Chan Chong and How Hoon Thien at 6:30 p.m. in the
first round of action in the lower half of the 32-pair
draw.

The top seeded tandem of Kien and Boon, on the other
hand, is tipped to dominate the upper bracket,
starting with its match with the German pair of Roman
Spitko and Michael Fuchs at 5 p.m..

The talented Malaysians have racked up three titles
this year, including the Malaysia Super Series, the
Swiss Open and the All England, making them the pair
to beat in the men’s doubles.

But Gunawan and Wijaya vowed to stop their bid, along
with a host of others raring to spoil the big guns’
domination of the event, which drew a record
315-player cast from 31 countries, sponsored by Bingo
Bonanza Corp. for the second straight year.

The RP Open, a $120,000 Grand Prix Gold event, will be
launched Tuesday (July 17) in elaborate rites at the
Holiday Inn Galleria with the world ranked players
gracing the event at 11 a.m.

A one-day qualifier will also be held at Philsports
Tuesday with majority of the 35 Filipinos chasing
berths in the main draw in various divisions.
Meantime, the local brother-sister tandem of Kennie
and Kennevic Asuncion said the road to mixed doubles
glory will be tough but promised to dish out their
best to gain another crack at the crown.

The Asuncions made it to the final in last year’s
inaugurals but succumbed to the power of Thai aces
Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoughthangkam in two
hard-fought sets.

“It’s going to be real tough but we’ll do our best,”
said Kennevic, adding that playing infront of their
countrymen adds a lot of pressure to their game.
“But at the same time, it helps a lot especially when
they’re cheering for us,” said Kennie, who will also
see action in the ladies doubles with Indon Partner
Wang Li Li.

The organizing IMG said tickets to the five-day event
are available at Ticketworld at the National Book
Store outlets. Tickets are pegged at P300, P200, P150,
P100 and P50 in the eliminations to quarterfinal
stages. Tickets in the semis and finals are priced at
P500, P400, P300, P200 and P50.

The RP Open, backed by Victor, exclusively distributed
by Pcome Industrial Sales, Inc., Snickers, The
Philippine Star, Solar Sports (official broadcaster),
Holiday Inn Galleria Manila and The Richmonde
(official hotels), will be shown live on Solar Sports
and RPN-9 beginning with the semifinal round on July
21 and the finals on July 22. The four-hour live
telecast will start at 2 p.m.