Photo: Supplied
The Northern Mariana Islands' junior badminton players have taken third place at an invitational event in Auckland, New Zealand.
The under-17 took bronze at the Pacific under-17 invitational team challenge last week after a 4-1 victory over Wallis and Futuna on the final day.
The squad - Lina Tsukagoshi, Eunho Park, Peng Fei Lin, Kate Yi Xu, William Guo, and Evan Seguritan - had earlier edged Tahiti 3-2 in a tight contest, with Seguritan and Tsukagoshi delivering key wins.
The team narrowly lost 3-2 to the Cook Islands earlier in the tournament.
The Northern Marianas opened their campaign with a commanding 4-1 win over Guam. Seguritan and Tsukagoshi each won their singles matches, while Park and Xu secured the women's doubles in straight games. Seguritan and Tsukagoshi later combined to win the mixed doubles and close out the tie.
The result continues a steady run of success for the territory's junior programme. Last year, the under-15 team also secured bronze at the Pacific under-15 Invitational in New Zealand, while the under-19 squad earned bronze at the VICTOR Oceania Junior Mixed Team Championships in Saipan.
Head coach Nate Guerrero said the third place reflects the programme's gradual development.
"Every team has to start somewhere," he said in an interview with Marianas Press, adding that he hopes the result encourages more young athletes in the Commonwealth to pursue sport and aim for national representation.
Guerrero, assisted by Janelle Pangilinan and Ezekiel Macario, said the competition was expected to be strong, with half the teams fielding returning players from previous events.
"It was just going to come down to playing hard and aiming to always find success," he said.
He said there was no single turning point in the tournament, with the team focused on treating each opponent the same way.
Guerrero said he was proud of the athletes' long-term growth, having watched many of them progress through the ranks from under-15 level.
"I think that even a little place like the Northern Marianas has the potential to compete with other countries," he said.
"As long as you stay focused, stay determined, stay disciplined, stay humble, stay good in school, and listen to your parents and coaches as well, you'll be able to achieve great things in life."
A Northern Marianas open men's and women's team also competed at the concurrent Victor Oceania Open Championships 2026. The women finished fourth, while the men placed sixth.
