JVC Open badminton tourney launched

Past, present and future badminton stars will strut their wares when the JVC Open badminton championships, which offers a total of P182,000 in cash prizes, is held June 11-17 at the badminton hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for the qualifying round and the Glorietta in Makati for the main draw.

The event, a prelude to the JVC Asian Badminton Championships which the country will host later this year, was formally launched yesterday at the Valle Verde Country Club with no less than Philippine Badminton head and former First Lady Amelita "Ming" Ramos gracing the affair.

Also on hand during the launch were Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Carlos Tuason and two of his commissioners in 1996 Atlanta Olympian Amparo Lim and Ritchie Garcia, and Gen. Edgardo Aglipay, one of the sport’s biggest supporters in the country.

A total of P128,000 will be staked in the elite division featuring the country’s present crop of badminton stars while P54,000 will be up for grabs in the youth division reserved for upcoming players. Handsome trophies and a lot of pride will be at stake in the veterans division, reserved for players aged 35 and above.

Aside from JVC, one of the biggest names in the electronic industry, lending a big hand in staging the event is the International Management Group, a global sports marketing company which handles the careers of the world’s greatest athletes like Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi, Martina Hingis, Joe Montana and Evander Holyfield.

The staging of the JVC Open and Asian Championships in the country this year is part of the Philippines’ search for badminton superstars. — Joey Villar