A Winning Attitude Serves Sundara Well : Badminton: Buena Park High School junior, The Times’ player of the year, added hard work to improve her natural skills.

Two years ago, freshman Noy Sundara was an extra player for Buena Park High School’s junior varsity badminton team. She didn’t show the form back then that would allow her to win the Southern Section girls’ singles title this season.

“She had the skill,” Buena Park Coach Michelle Tafoya said. “She probably, at that time, didn’t know what the game was about and was slow.”

But Sundara did show something that Tafoya said was more important: a winning attitude.

Sundara, The Times’ Orange County badminton player of the year, explained her idea of what an athlete’s attitude should be: “You have to play hard and you have to respect your coach. Whatever they say, you have to listen to them. And you have to have good sportsmanship. Even if you’re so good, if you don’t have good sportsmanship, forget you. . . . You can improve your ability but you can’t always improve your attitude.”

Sundara, now a junior, said her attitude helped her improve her skills.

“It shows that I really want to play badminton,” she said.

During her freshman year, former assistant coaches Tony Vachira Korntong and his brother, Vitoon, knew Sundara wanted to play badminton, and they began giving her a great deal of individual attention.

“(They) pushed me so hard,” Sundara said. “Every single day I would go home and my legs would be so sore, and my dad would say, ‘What did they do to you?’ But it was worth it.”

Tafoya apparently also thought Sundara’s hard work was worth it. Tafoya allowed Sundara to play varsity singles as a sophomore, and this year chose Sundara to play in Buena Park’s top singles spot, on the varsity mixed doubles team with Scott Lee, and to be team captain. Those moves paid off because Sundara led Buena Park to the Southern Section 4-A team title.

“She was really confident about her game,” said Tafoya. “She likes playing the game of badminton and she knows how to play. She can pick her opponents’ weaknesses.”

Sundara said a weakness she sees in most of her opponents is a failure to vary their shots. “I change my serves, I change my hitting,” she said. “I know some players don’t look where their opponent is.”

Sundara and mixed doubles partner Scott Lee have a record of 31-6. “We enjoy ourselves and have fun,” Sundara said. “That’s the most important thing. We don’t want to yell at each other. . . . If we win, we’re happy. If we lose, that’s OK. We’ll get them next time.”

Sundara said that although she is confident on the court and always tries to enjoy herself, she is never completely confident or relaxed. “I’m always scared of my opponents,” she said. “Even if I’m way better than them . . . because anything can happen.”

Sundara says fear actually helps her game. “It helps me a lot,” she said. “It makes me keep thinking . . . ‘I can’t let them get the next point.’ ”

ALL-COUNTY BADMINTON TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Event Player Yr. School Rec. Boys’ singles Hoang Ly Sr. Estancia 57-1 Girls’ singles Noy Sundara Jr. Buena Park 57-0 Boys’ doubles Pratt Mallawong Sr. Garden Grove 49-6 John Chong Sr. Girls’ doubles My Linh Sr. Estancia 14-2 Doan Nguyen Fr. Mixed doubles Hoang Ly Sr. Estancia 7-0 Doan Nguyen Fr. SECOND TEAM Boys’ singles Charles Lee Sr. Garden Grove 45-6 Girls’ singles Jody Tran Sr. Bolsa Grande 21-1 Boys’ doubles Cong Ta Soph. Bolsa Grande 22-1 Hien Nguyen Sr. Girls’ doubles Da Sundara Sr. Buena Park 62-4 Sandy Chun Sr. Mixed doubles Scott Lee Sr. Buena Park 31-6 Noy Sundara Jr.

Hoang Ly: The U.S. Badminton Association’s top-ranked junior player

Noy Sundara: Won the Southern Section individual title

Pratt Mallawong, John Chong: Runners-up for the section doubles title

My Linh, Doan Nguyen: Placed second in the Southern Section championships

Hoang Ly, Doan Nguyen: Won Southern Section mixed doubles championships

Honorable mention: Scott Lee, Buena Park; Tam Le, Buena Park; Karin Schambech, La Habra; Lisa Tran, Westminster.