Villa Park Duo Are Solo, Mixed Masters

Villa Park’s Mike Chansawangpuvana and May Mangkalakiri were the county’s most dominant badminton singles players this season. Put them together on a mixed-doubles team and they were overpowering.

They won their second consecutive mixed doubles title at the Southern Section individual finals, where Chansawangpuvana, a sophomore, also won the boys’ singles title.

Mangkalakiri, a junior, was runner-up in girls’ singles, falling to Alhambra Keppel’s Elie Wu, who was a finalist at the U.S. National Championships. It was the only high school defeat suffered by either Mangkalakiri or Chansawangpuvana this year.

It’s easy to see why they are The Times’ Orange County players of the year.

Each is a member of the junior national training program at the Orange County Badminton Club, and the top-level coaching they receive has resulted in marked improvement in their games.

Chansawangpuvana was transformed from an unsure, awkward freshman to a quick, agile athlete with quiet confidence in his game.

After Garden Grove’s Tam Nguyen soundly defeated him in last year’s individual semifinals, Chansawangpuvana vowed to return this season with new determination. Seeded second, he swept all his matches on his way to the singles title.

“His game improved in leaps and bounds from last season,” Villa Park Coach Sherry Smith said. “He is much more effective and is sure of himself now.”

Mangkalakiri is accustomed to winning. Since she began playing three years ago, she has won three section individual titles and twice has been named county player of the year. Last year, she also won three junior national titles, including one in mixed doubles with Chansawangpuvana.

“[Mangkalakiri] gives you so many options,” said Coach Prat Mallawong of rival Garden Grove High. “No matter where you put her in the lineup, she is going to win the points.”

In winning the mixed doubles title, Chansawangpuvana and Mangkalakiri gave up only 16 points, sweeping all their opponents until the title match. There, against second-seeded Aaron Huynh and Joanne Yeung of Alhambra, they started and finished strong in a 15-3, 10-15, 15-2 victory.

However, the pair’s dominance wasn’t enough to carry the entire team.Garden Grove beat the Spartans in the finals last year and in the semifinals this season.

Earlier this season, Chansawangpuvana and Mangkalakiri hinted that they, like some of their national squad teammates, might not return to high school competition next year. But a section team title, something they have failed to win twice now, may prove to be enticement enough.

“May is already talking about what we can do and plans for next season,” Smith said. “And Mike told me he is coming back. But I’ll probably be the last to know if they change their minds.”