By Fuyu Banno

The LGHS badminton team started off the season strong with a win against Los Altos and with top players on the team ranking 10th place at the annual Gunn Badminton tournaments. Followed by matches against Mountain View, Kathleen MacDonald, and Saratoga, the LGHS badminton showed its strength and teamwork with a new team of players. 

Unlike other sports offered at LGHS, Badminton is a co-ed sport with both the JV and varsity teams playing at the same time. Events include girls and boys doubles, girls singles, boys singles, and mixed doubles. Players are trained for the specific event and sharpen their skill through various drills focusing on stamina, consistency, and badminton shot skill. Varsity scores decide which teams win overall, but JV scores are still accounted for separately. 

The team started off the season winning against Los Altos 18-12, followed by a tough loss against Mountain View 16-14. In hopes of redemption and coming back with new skills learned through drills, the LGHS Badminton team won against MacDonald High School 19-11. Girls Varsity 1 doubles players Farah Tharaq and Cadie Ho played a close match against MacDonald, winning the final match to take it all. The following week, LGHS played its sister school Saratoga, with LGHS losing 5-25.

Throughout close matches and victories, the JV badminton team remains undefeated. Starting off with a victory against Los Altos, a win against Mountain View closely followed with a score of  9-6. The JV team continued strongly, winning 12-3 against MacDonald then 9-6 against Saratoga. 

Outside of league matches, Gunn High School hosted over 30 different high school badminton teams in a ranked tournament on Mar. 15. Top players from each school competed in all events against different schools. Los Gatos High School entered the tournament with two teams; team one consisting of captains Matthew Ng and Rosa Sahandi alongside senior Andrew Schineider and sophomore Farah Tharaq. The second team consisted of seniors Rohan Jones, Cadie Ho, Cami Lui, and Jennifer Choi alongside sophomore Gavin Liu. After advancing to the round of sixteen, the first team managed to end ranked ten. 

With a wide range of skill and the diversity of players, badminton Coach Lisa Shenoy stressed the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship. Sophomore JV mixed doubles player Gabby Chan emphasizes how Coach Shenoy plays a big part in team morale stating, “She pushed us to be better, and not to give up.” Through the coach’s commitment to make sure each player plays to their fullest potential, each player on the team is expected to uphold these standards and to represent LGHS positively.