Partners Cup badminton under way

MANILA, Philippines – Over P400,000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs in the FDG/Partners Cup Invitational Badminton Championships, featuring the crack South Korean team, which starts today at the Yonex Badminton courts at the Liberty Center on Shaw Blvd. in Mandaluyong City.

Keen competition is seen in various categories of the tournament held to promote fitness and health and at the same time foster camaraderie among the management and staff of Robinsons Land Corp.’s (RLC) and its business partners, including architects, consultants, project managers, contractors and suppliers and friends.

Highlighting the sixth staging of the event is the FDG Cup, held in honor of Frederick Go, president of Robinons Land, with the world-ranked-Koreans going up against the country’s top shuttlers, headed by the veteran brother-sister tandem of Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion.

The FDG Cup features the masters and elite categories.

The Koreans will be led by world No. 2 and Beijing Olympics mixed doubles champions Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung, also No. 5 in the world in women’s doubles with Lee Kyung Won. Also in the fold are former Olympic men’s doubles gold medalist Hae Tae Kwon and Lee Dong Soo, former all-England champion Kans Kyung Jin.

China super series men’s doubles champion and No. 6 Jung Jae Sung, last year’s Badminton Asia champion Park Sung Hwan, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Hwang Ji Man and world-ranked Yoo Yeon Seong, Kim Min Jung, Ha Jung Eun, Lee Kyung Won and Hwang Hye Yeon are the other Korean players who will share their expertise in exhibition matches starting at 11 a.m.

Aside from cash prizes, fabulous prizes will also be raffled off, including HP laptops, LCD TV, Ipods, electronic gadgets and appliances.