FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 10, 1996

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) - Kevin Han, 1996 U.S. Olympic team member, 
outlasted former U.S. Assistant National Team Coach Ignatius Rusli to 
win the men's singles championship at the Southern California Badminton 
Association Classic, December 6-8, at the Orange County Badminton Club 
in Orange, California.

Han, a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado 
Springs, Colo., dropped the first game to Rusli (Orange, Calif.) 8-15, 
but came back to win the last two against his former coach, 15-7, 15-5. 
The SCBA Classic is a National Team Qualifier, and is part of USA 
Badminton's "Classic" circuit, the five-event grand prix series for 
badminton in the U.S.

In women's singles, Cindy Shi of China earned her second consecutive 
Classic title, defeating Becky Wu (Los Angeles via Chinese Taipei) in 
the most exciting match of the tournament. After losing the first game 
11-12, Shi battled back to take the next two games by the narrow margins 
of 12-10, 12-11. Her SCBA Classic title follows her victory at the 
Portland Classic last month.

In men's doubles competition, Ronny Oetomo (Marina Del Rey, Calif.) and 
Trisna Gunadi (Alhambra, Calif.) defeated 1992 Olympian Ben Lee (San 
Jose, Calif.) and Howard Bach, a resident athlete at the Olympic 
Training Center in Colorado Springs, 5-15, 15-8, 15-6.

Wu managed to follow her singles defeat by winning the women's doubles 
title with Terry Lira (Lakewood, Calif. ), upsetting the No. 1 seed 
Eileen Tang (Chino, Calif.) and Shannon Hsu (Costa Mesa, Calif.) 8-15, 
15-8, 15-8. The SCBA Classic marks the third consecutive Classic in 
which Tang and Hsu finished runners-up in women's doubles. The were 
finalists at both the St. Louis Classic in October and the Portland 
Classic in November.

Wu and Oetomo combined to win the mixed doubles competition, defeating 
Gunadi and Tang 18-15, 15-7 in another exciting finals match. 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MIKE COLIAS AT USA BADMINTON, (719) 578-
4808.