Injury Helps Chung Get Leg Up on the Competition

Magnolia senior Boris Chung credits his badminton player of the year award to a broken leg that occurred in the seventh grade.

In junior high school, he broke his leg and was forced to take a modified physical education class. Fortunately for Chung, the class was taught by Loara badminton Coach Diane Sweeney, who after finding out he had family ties in badminton, pushed Chung toward the sport.

“I wasn’t able to take a regular P.E. class because of my leg,” Chung, 17, said. “After Diane found out I had a cousin who played, she got me to play with him. I just started hitting around and before long I started liking it.”

He likes it so much he has a goal of making the Olympic badminton team in 2000.

Chung’s Olympic hopes came into view after he improved his game and his desire last summer on a trip to Cambodia, his parents’ homeland.

“I went to Cambodia and it had a big effect on me,” said Chung, who was born in Long Beach. “I went into a gym one day looking for somewhere to play and it was dramatic how good the players were. I saw how fast and fun the game really was. They taught me so much.”

Chung took what he learned in Cambodia and brought it back home with him where he began practicing on his own. He played in pickup games at Cypress College and any open gyms he could find, always looking for better players to play.

Once school began, he practiced with the team at least three hours a day.

“I went hard from beginning to end,” Chung said. “I stayed until they kicked me out of the gym.”

All his hard work paid off. Chung lost only two matches all season, his final loss coming in the Southern Section individual finals. He faced the top-seeded player from Alta Loma High, Amarit Rojsirivit. Rojsirivit, who moved last year from Thailand, is a member of Thailand’s junior national team. Chung lost the match, 15-4, 15-7, but remained optimistic, helping to lead his team to its first Southern Section Division II final.

To reach the final, Magnolia upset top-seeded Long Beach Millikan and fourth-seeded Katella and were the underdogs again as they faced off with Sweeney and the Saxons in the championship match.

Loara, which has two of Chung’s cousins on its team, eked out an 11-8 victory for the title.

“I really wanted our team to win. I wanted to burn her [Sweeney],” Chung joked. “I wanted to kick their butts.”

In the match, Chung did his job, sweeping both of his cousins in singles, beating Sopath Ho, 3-0, 0-3, 8-15 and Sophea Kiet, 15-9, 12-15, 15-12. He also won his mixed doubles match with partner Joyce Cabuhat, 15-10, 15-9.

“Our team could have been better, but at first, when we practiced no one seemed to care,” Chung said. “Then we started winning and they realized we could make it all the way.”

But even after losses in the individual and team finals, Chung is happy with the way things turned out.

“I couldn’t be a lot happier,” said Chung. “This year was picture perfect.”

Chung, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, will move on to UC Riverside after graduating this month. He’d like to study biochemistry in hopes of becoming a doctor.

Between his studies, maybe he can squeeze in a little time to play badminton and keep his Olympic dream alive.

“My parents want me to be something in life,” Chung said. “Doctors are a respected profession and I want to make my parents proud. I also plan to keep playing badminton, but college takes time away, and my education comes first.”