The Northern Marianas Badminton Association (NMBA) has narrowed its selection to 14 individuals who will spend the next few months training for the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022, 12 of which (the maximum number of players allowed per country) will go on to represent the home nation in June.
The men’s squad will be headed by team captain Nathan Guerrero, who represented the islands in the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. Joining Guerrero on the team are his fellow Pacific Games veterans Andreau Galvez, Jordan Pangilinan, and siblings Ezekiel and Daniel Macario. Completing the men’s crew are Leonard Isaiah Manuel and youth player Paulo Jerome Quidato. All seven have been training for the past several months and have actively participated in the NMBA-organised events last year, including the inaugural NMI National Badminton Championships.
On the women’s side, Janelle Pangilinan will suit up for the national team anew after debuting in the Pacific Games three years ago. She will have Jenine Savellano, Jeanelyn Cardinio, Patricia Nicole Surima, Windy Ann Fernandez, and sisters Michaella and Mikamaika Serrano as teammates.
“We would like to congratulate the 14 players for making it to the NMI National Badminton Team. We look forward to their continued commitment to the national squad as they prepare for the Mini Games and do their best to represent the NMI well. We are excited to see our players compete in front of the home crowd,” NMBA president, Merlie Tolentino, said.
The Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 will run from June 17 to 25, with the badminton competition taking place from June 20 to 25 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. Badminton will have six events; team, men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. Guam, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna – as of December last year – are the other countries that have provisionally entered the badminton competition.
Guerrero said the team is excited for the opportunity to challenge players in the region and with a little over four months left before the tournament unfolds, they will have to push themselves harder to be battle ready.
The NMI National Badminton Team started training as a group last Monday and will be focusing on strength and conditioning training for the first two months of the year. Players are having training sessions three times a week and they are also scheduled to compete in Guam next month to gauge their readiness for the Mini Games.
First published by the Saipan Tribune, adapted from the Badminton Oceania website.