Cabuhat Stays on Her Toes to Win

ORANGE — Magnolia’s Joyce Cabuhat breezed through Saturday’s Southern Section badminton individual championships, winning the girls’ singles title with an 11-3, 11-9 victory over Alhambra’s Stella Ng.

Top-seeded Cabuhat, The Times county player of the year last season, didn’t lose a game in her sweep to the title. A semifinalist last year, Cabuhat, a senior, was the only county player to earn an individual title in Saturday’s matches. Loara’s Tuan Nguyen and Sharon Myung won the mixed doubles title Thursday.

“I was really confident,” said Cabuhat, 17. “I did a lot this summer. I worked out with a coach from Denmark, who helped me a lot with my footwork.”

In boys’ singles, second-seeded Wook Kim of Garden Grove advanced to the finals, but was no match for the talent and experience of Alta Loma’s Amarit Rojsirivit, who won, 15-10, 15-3. Top-seeded, Rojsirivit moved to the United States several years ago from Thailand, where he was a member of the junior national team and is expected to turn pro.

“He has a lot of experience,” said Garden Grove Coach Vicki Toutz. “Wook has the same strength and speed, but these kids can’t compete with the experience [Rojsirivit] has.”

One of Rojsirivit’s strengths is his serve, a long lob that stays inside the end line. On the return, Kim was only able to lob it back, setting up Rojsirivit for a smash or quick drop.

“It’s a very hard serve to return,” Kimm said. “I couldn’t smash it and my drop shots weren’t effective.”

Kim battled back from an 8-3 deficit in Game 1 and held off Rojsirivit on two game points before losing. In Game 2, it was all Rojsirivit, who took a 10-0 lead, before putting Kim away.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Kim about the second game. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

In boys’ doubles, third-seeded Steve Lee and Tuan Nguyen of Loara advanced to the finals by upsetting Ocean View’s second-seeded team of Trung Nguyen and Phong Vo, 15-8, 15-3. The victory put them up against the top-seeded team from Alhambra Keppel, Xiao Hang and Binh Tran. Lee and Nguyen were unable to find a solution to Hang’s blistering smashes, as he consistently killed shot after shot in the 15-5, 15-10 victory.

In girls’ doubles, Long Beach Wilson’s Sara Van and Sophy Chung won the championship with an 18-15, 15-4 upset over Keppel’s second-seeded team, Vivian Tran and Susie Yang.