It’s already several days into the Olympics, and Team USA has taken gold in a number of events. The American badminton team – which is comprised of seven Asian Americans – hopes to continue the streak starting today – this year marks the first time the U.S. has players in each of the five badminton events.
Here are the athletes trying to make that happen:
Eva Lee and Paula Lynn Obanana
Let’s start with the player leading the pack – Eva Lee came to the U.S. from China when she was 6 years old, and has played badminton ever since. She is the only veteran on the team, having played in the 2008 Beijing games. She and her new women’s doubles partner, Paula Lynn Obanana, won gold in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. According to the Badminton World Federation, the duo are ranked No. 31 in the world.
Obanana started playing when she was 10 years old. Now 31, she hopes to take home the gold in the women’s doubles event with Lee. The duo have also won silver in the the 2016 Tahiti International and Austrian International.
Team USA
Sattawat Pongnairat
Like many on the list, Sattawat will be making his Olympic debut in Rio. Playing in the men’s doubles event, he and his partner Phillip Chew hope to make this year a memorable one. Like Eva and Paula, the two won gold in the 2015 Pan American Games. They are currently ranked No. 42 in the world for men’s doubles.
A photo posted by Phillip Chew (@ipichew) on
Phillip Chew and Jamie Subandhi
Chew, who is only one of eight players to be participating in multiple events for badminton, will be playing in both the men’s double and mixed doubles events. His mixed doubles partner is Jamie Subandhi. Together, they have a world rank of No. 27 for mixed doubles. They took home the gold during the 2015 Pan American Games.
Subandhi will be participating in the mixed doubles events with partner Phillip. This is the first time a U.S. team has qualified for a mixed doubles event in the Olympics. The pair also won silver in the 2016 Tahiti International and bronze in the 2016 Brazil International.
Howard Shu
Shu will represent the U.S. in the men’s singles event. He is currently ranked No. 67 in the world for men’s singles. In the 2015 Pan American Games, Howard took home the bronze.
![Canada Open 2016 SF WS - Michelle Li [1] (CAN) vs Iris Wang [3] (USA)](https://charactermedia.com/_site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SVsyG3.gif)
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Iris Wang
Wang is ranked No. 37 in the world for women’s singles. In 2015, she won gold at the Spanish International, silver at the Bangladesh International, and bronze at the Pan American Games. She will be Team USA’s women’s singles representative.
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