Rusli Advances in Badminton Tournament

Ignitus Rusli of Anaheim Hills was the only local player to advance to the semifinals of men’s singles at the Orange County Badminton Club National Tournament on Friday in Orange.

Rusli, an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic badminton team in 1986, beat Erick Betancourt of Mexico to advance. Rusli, 29, with his partner Ben Lee of San Jose, also advanced to the semifinals in men’s doubles.

Rusli and Lee will play Ben Wu and Trisna Gunadi in the semifinals today.

In women’s singles, Joanne Muggeridge of England and Yeping Tang of Maryland advanced to the semifinal round, as did Becky Wu of Lomita and Cindy Chi of Colorado.

Competition continues today in the semifinals with seniors beginning at 10 a.m. and the open divisions starting at 1 p.m. The finals are Sunday.