U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL: ORANGE COUNTY’S DAY : LOS ANGELES 1991 : Ly Is Ready to Take His Badminton Play to the Highest Level : Festival: Former standout at Estancia High School wants to become a U.S. citizen, and would like to represent his new country at the Olympics.

Hoang Ly cracks a wry smile when asked about his chances of winning a medal in the U.S. Olympic Festival badminton competition.

“Too many good players,” he said. “In another two or three years, I will have a chance.

“Right now, I need more skill, endurance and consistency in my game.”

But modesty might be his best weapon.

Ly, of Costa Mesa, the defending junior national champion, has found the endurance and consistency to keep up with the big boys at the festival.

Ly did well in the singles draw, finishing 2-1, but had the misfortune of being in the same pool as two of the tournament’s better players. One was Tom Reidy of Valleystream, N.Y., who defeated Ly, 15-1, 15-4, to end any hope for a medal.

Despite his recent success, Ly, 20, a former standout at Estancia High School, said he doesn’t have the experience and skills to compete at the national level. For example, he developed a backhand shot only three months ago.

“I still have a lot to learn,” he said. “There are a lot of shots I need to learn. I’ve played four years without a backhand. I would run around and use my forehand on every shot.”

Badminton will be a medal sport at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Ly just completed his freshman year at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich., the site of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s funded training center for badminton.

Ly won the national junior singles and doubles titles in June, 1990, shortly after graduating from Estancia. His play earned him a full scholarship to Northern Michigan, where he’s studying math, English and sociology.

“I should make the U.S. national team within the next year,” Ly said. “But it’s a whole different game here, coming out of the juniors.”

But before Ly can join the U.S. Olympic team, he must first become a U.S. citizen.

He and his brother, Son, a basketball player at Estancia, moved from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to the United States with their mother in 1983. They were in search of their father, a U.S. soldier who left the family behind after the Vietnam War.

“Becoming a U.S. citizen is something I have thought about for a long time,” Ly said, “because of my dad.”

Ly and his brother had hoped to gain citizenship by the fall. Both had applied in California, but must take the test in the same state they apply. Hoang will be back in Michigan by the time the test is available.

“I don’t plan on coming back until next summer,” Ly said. “If I reapplied in Michigan, I will have to wait another six months.”

Ly and his family have yet to find their father. They lived in Nashville, Tenn., for two years before moving to Costa Mesa to be with relatives just before Hoang’s freshman year at Estancia.

It was at Estancia that Hoang, 5-feet-7 and 148 pounds, first started playing badminton.

“I didn’t know anything about it when I first went out for the team,” Ly said. “But on my very first try, I smashed it.”

Ly played doubles as a freshman before switching to singles as a sophomore.

As a senior, Ly was 65-1, losing only in the Southern Section singles final, won five tournaments and was named The Times’ Orange County player of the year.

Estancia Coach Lillian Brabander said she has never seen a player develop as quickly as Ly. She calls him “a natural.”

Hoang was a three-sport athlete at Estancia, running cross-country for two years and playing basketball and badminton. He gave up basketball as a senior to concentrate on badminton.

Hoang said running five kilometers is easy compared to a best two-out-of-three match.

“Rallies between good, evenly matched players last forever,” he said. And at the national level, every match is tough, Ly said.

“In juniors, I could beat everyone,” he said. “Here, everyone can beat me. There’s much more strategy and endurance at this level.”