Han Hits the Half-Dozen Mark in Titles

Kevin Han pumped his fist and handed out high-fives to spectators after regaining his men’s singles title at the U.S. National Badminton Championships Sunday at the Orange County Badminton Club in Orange.

Han, of Orange, reclaimed his title from defending champion and top-seeded Alex Liang of Alhambra, who won the championship last year after Han had to default due to a groin injury. Han, seeded second, had won three consecutive titles prior to that, and Sunday’s 15-5, 15-3 victory gave him his sixth overall.

“I’ve been very anxious to get the title back,” said Han, 28. “I want to see how many titles I can win.”

Han, the only athlete to represent the U.S. in badminton at the Sydney Olympics, became the first American to advance to the third round of competition, where he lost to the eventual gold medalist, Ji Xinpeng of China.

Han, a member of the National Training Center now located at the Orange County club, had little difficulty handling Liang, a former Chinese mixed doubles champion. Han kept Liang guessing throughout the match, perfectly placing slams down the lines and drops over the net. He took 13-3 leads in both games before putting Liang away.

Han closed out the tournament by winning the men’s doubles title with partner Howard Bach, also a member of the national training program. The two defeated Khankham Malaythong of Orange and Amarit Rojsirvit of Alta Loma, 15-8, 15-5.

In women’s singles, top-seeded Meiluawati won her first U.S. title, defeating Orange’s Cindy Shi, who recently came out of retirement.

Meiluawati, 25, who moved to Orange from Indonesia last year to work on her education, now trains and lives at the club. She made quick work of second-seeded Shi, winning, 11-3, 11-7.

Meiluawati and Shi partnered in women’s doubles and defeated Janis Tan and Elie Wu of Alhambra, 15-9, 15-4, for the title.

Tan and Trisna Gunadi (Alhambra) teamed to win the mixed doubles title.