Fresh off their unlikely world title, Bach and Gunawan expressed just how surreal it all still is during their teleconference call.

Tony Gunawan

“It’s like a dream come true. I came to the U.S. to help promote the sport of Badminton. It’s hard to believe we came this far. It’s unbelievable to actually give our best, not really expecting we can win, but to win anyway.”

Howard Bach

“Last night I stepped on the court with three legends, people I’ve watched and to now be a part of history, to actually be a World Champion at home is definitely surreal.”

Dan Cloppas, Executive Director, USA Badminton

“As Howard (Bach) aptly put it last night in the press conference, we’re out of the backyard barbeque syndrome now. I think the people of America have an appreciation for what it takes to be an athlete in this sport. Anyone who watched these three grueling matches last night, I don’t know how they walked off the court, let alone played.

This is huge for USA Badminton. Now, I think children in grade school are going to start looking at the sport differently and say, well, ‘maybe I don’t want to out for football or basketball, I want to be like Tony and Howard.’ And it’s amazing when a sport can reach that point.”

Bio Background on Bach and Gunawan

HOWARD BACH

Event: Men’s Doubles

Doubles Partner: Tony Gunawan (was previously Kevin Han thru 2004)

Height: 5’ 7”

Weight: 153 lbs.

Birthdate: February 22, 1979

Birthplace: Saigon, Vietnam

Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.

Current Residence: Orange, Calif.

Coach: Ignatius Rusli

Racket: Yonex – Ti-8

Dominant Hand: Right

Sponsors: Yonex

Pan American Games: 2003 Pan American Games Gold Medalist w/ Han

1999 Pan American Games Silver Medalist with Mark Manha

Personal: Howard Bach now lives and trains at the Orange County Badminton Club in Orange, Calif…Is currently enrolled Cal State Fullerton where his is studying Business Information Systems…Is a USA Badminton Development Foundation Coach, which is part of the USA Badminton Junior Development Program…Was named a recipient of a Pontiac Grand Am automobile in the General Motors ‘Team Behind The Team’ Program prior to the 2000 Olympic Games…Attributes much of his success to his family and their unending support…Is the son of Cain and Amy Bach…Has four sisters, Belvia, Nancy, Myltanh and Carrie…Graduated from Galileo High School in San Francisco, Calif. in 1997…Enjoys fishing, bowling, basketball, skiing, river rafting, playing the guitar, playing video games, driving really fast remote control cars and flying kites in his spare time…Is interested in learning to play the piano and learning Chinese…Began playing badminton at the age of 7 at a local YMCA where his Dad played.

For more information on Tony Gunawan, check out the following link and profile story written by the Orange County Register at http://www.badders.com/news/item/716/No-Racket-over-his-Retirement

USA Badminton Quick Facts

USA Badminton is headquartered at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. USAB oversees sanctioned tournaments nationwide, develops grassroots initiatives to foster increased participation in the sport, certifies and educates coaches, and prepares the best players in the nation to excel in international competition, including the Olympic Games.

To ready competitors for the Olympic challenge, USAB sends players to major international tournaments such as the World Individual Championships, the Sudirman Cup, the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup (the world’s men’s and women’s team championship, respectively), the World Junior Championship, and the Pan American Games. USAB hosts a number of major events including: U.S. Senior National Championships, U.S. Adult National Championships, and the U.S. Junior National Championships. USAB has over 4,000 members nationwide, but estimates that there are thousands of recreational badminton players in the U.S.

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association reported in a recent study that 300,000 people play badminton weekly in the US, over one million Americans call badminton their favorite sport, and 7.5 million Americans play the sport at least once a year.

USAB maintains a player ranking system, publishes educational materials on the sport, and holds regular training camps and coaching clinics.

USAB would like to thank its national sponsors: K&D Graphics (Orange, CA) and Yonex Corporation (Torrance, CA).

USAB Programs

The USAB endorses a variety of programs geared at players of all skill levels:

Grade School Programs

USAB has recently begun assisting members to start youth programs at grade schools. These programs teach the fundamentals of the game, and some are even competitive. The hope is that as the youth become more attracted to badminton, they will continue to play it as they grow and thus grow the popularity of the sport.

Feeder Programs

USAB has a number of feeder programs designed to identify and cultivate the nation’s top talent in preparation for positions on the national team and Olympic Team.

National Team Program

USAB selects national teams based on specific guidelines for qualification. These teams compete in high-profile international events such as the Sudirman Cup World Championships, the Thomas/Uber Cup and various other IBF sanctioned events.

Selection committees choose competitors for each event based on trial competition or a combination of factors such as the player’s world ranking, international results, and domestic tournament performances. USAB typically holds training camps for U.S. team members prior to major international events and funds player travel to these events.

USAB formed junior national teams, and team selections are based on player performances at the junior national championships held annually in July. Players can be selected and invited to join the Back Up Squad (U19 and U17), or the Development Squad (U15).

The national team programs and policies are governed by USAB’s Olympic Player Development Committee, which typically consists of six USAB board members. The USAB Junior Committee oversees developmental programs and team selection processes for junior athletes.

USAB Sanctioned Clubs and Tournaments

USAB-sanctioned clubs and tournaments in the U.S. are listed on the organization’s website www.usabadminton.org

Badminton Fast Facts

 Badminton originated from a game played in China in 500 BC

 Ti Jian Zi, as it was called then, was played with the feet and a shuttlecock

 5 Centuries later a game called Battledore (the old rackets) became very popular in China, Japan, India and Greece

 In the 16th century the European nobility adopted as a past time, the jeu dfe Volant (French) for “wheel game”, as opposed to the jeu de paume (palm game) which gave birth to tennis and consisted in a small ball hit with the palm of the hand.

 An Indian game, Poona was brought to England in the 19th century

 The ABA (now USA Badminton) was established in 1936

 The International Badminton Federation (IBF) was established in Gloucestershire, England, in 1934

 The total number of participants who regularly played badminton (25 times in 1 year) in the U.S. is approximately one million people.

 The shuttlecock is made from 14 to 16 feathers from the left or right wing of a goose and fixed in a cork base covered with a thin layer of leather or similar material. The weight of a shuttlecock ranges from 4.74-5.50 grams.

 There are 156 Countries in the International Badminton Federation.

 The US dominated the sport of badminton between 1949-67 the U.S. by winning 23 world championships.

 The shuttlecock can travel at speeds in excess of 200 mph. Badminton is the world’s fastest racket sport.

 In the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona, Spain Badminton became an official Olympic sport.

 More than 1.1 billion people watched the 2000 Olympic Badminton competition on TV.

 Crowds of up to 15,000 are common for major badminton tournaments in Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

 For more information on Badminton please visit: www.usabadminton.org

HISTORY OF BADMINTON

Badminton was invented long ago; badminton originated from a game played in China in 500 BC. Ti Jian Zi, as it was called then was played with the feet and a shuttlecock. Five Centuries later a game called battledore (the old rackets) and shuttlecock became very popular in China, Japan, India and Greece. In the 16th century the European nobility adopted as a past time the “jeu de Volant (French) for “wheel game”, as opposed to the jeu de paume (palm game), which gave birth to tennis and consisted of a small ball hit with the palm of the hand. But it was the Poona, and Indian game brought to England in the 19th century.

BADMINTON IN THE USA

Badminton has a rich history in the United States. The first badminton club in this country, the Badminton Club of New York, was formed in 1878 and became a weekend meeting place for New York’s society leaders. Badminton’s popularity boomed in the 1930s as educational institutions, YMCAs, and hundreds of newly formed clubs offered badminton instruction. Also spurring the sport’s popularity in the 1930s was the avid play by several Hollywood personalities including James Cagney, Bette Davis, Boris Karloff, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Joan Crawford, and Douglas Fairbanks.

The American Badminton Association was organized in 1936 (changed to USBA in 1978), when Donald Wilbur, Robert McMillan, and twins Donald and Phillip Richardson, all of Brookline, Massachusetts, decided to unite the nation’s various badminton groups. Programs from New York, Massachusetts, Chicago, and the West Coast came together to form one voice and standardize rules and regulations of the game. The ABA held its first National Championships in 1937, and became a member of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in 1938 and was world runner-up during this period.

The year 1949 brought the United States its first world champions as David Freeman of Pasadena, California, won men’s singles at the prestigious All-England Championships (considered the unofficial world championships until 1977 when World Championships were instituted). Americans Clinton and Patsy Stevens won the All-England mixed doubles title the same year.

The United States’ international success continued. Between 1949 and 1967, the United States won 23 world individual championships (one men’s singles, 12 women’s singles, one men’s doubles, eight women’s doubles, and one mixed doubles) and three women’s world team championships. The U.S. men’s team was also world runner-up during this period. Sports Illustrated acknowledged the United States’ badminton success by featuring top male player Joe Alston on the cover of its March 7, 1955 issue.

The number of U.S. clubs declined slightly in the 1970s; however, high school and collegiate play expanded. This period also saw the introduction of lighter metal rackets, which replaced wooden rackets.

BADMINTON JOINS THE OLYMPIC FAMILY

In 1987, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) officially recognized USA Badminton as the National Governing Body for the sport of badminton in the United States. In 1989, badminton made its USOC event debut at the Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City, OK.

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, badminton made its first appearance as an Olympic event, with U.S. athletes advancing as far as the second round of the tournament. Following this high profile event, membership in the International Badminton Federation surged to a record 130 nations.

The sport first appeared on the Pan American Games program in 1995 in Argentina, and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta raised the sport’s visibility in the U.S. The event was a sell-out, and public figures like former President Jimmy Carter, former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, Princess Anne, and celebrity Paul Newman were among those in attendance.

In its quest to achieve Olympic medals in the year 2008, USA Badminton now trains elite athletes–including Olympians, national champions, and junior national champions– full-time. In addition to receiving 25 hours of court time per week under the supervision of the national and regional coaches, athletes are also involved in cross-training programs, extensive strength training programs, and U.S. Olympic Committee sport science and psychology programs.

Television

According to the International Badminton Federation, ESPN2 will air the World Championships nationally in September. According to the IBF, five one hour shows will feature competition highlights from the World Championships in each of the disciplines – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Hosting each telecast will be long-time ESPN lead NHL analyst, and 2004 Olympic badminton commentator, Bill Clement.

Air dates are scheduled starting in early September during ESPN2’s Game Room time slot, Monday-Friday, Noon-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. ET.

For more information, please contact Kevin Neuendorf or Bob Condron at 719-866-4786 or 719-866-4530.