Howard Bach (born February 22, 1979) is a Vietnamese-American male badminton player from the United States. He was the 2005 world champion in the men's doubles with Tony Gunawan.

Howard Bach
Personal information
CountryUnited States
Born (1979-02-22) February 22, 1979 (age 45)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ResidenceOrange, California, United States
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
HandednessRight
Men's doubles
Highest ranking9 (5 August 2010)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Anaheim Men's doubles
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Yiyang Men's doubles
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Men's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2003 Santo Domingo Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 1999 Winnipeg Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Mixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Calgary Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2001 Lima Men's doubles
Gold medal – first place 1997 Winnipeg Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2007 Calgary Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Lima Men's singles
BWF profile

Early life

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He was born in Vietnam, Howard Bach came to the U.S. at the age of two, when his father, Cam Sen Bach, emigrated to San Francisco with his family in 1982.[1] From 1991–1993, he attended Marina Middle School in San Francisco. When he was five years old, Howard Bach was brought by his father to the Golden Gate YMCA in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. It was here that over the next 11 years, Howard Bach would be coached by his father in badminton. Bach was a 16-year-old student at Galileo High School when he decided to dedicate himself to the sport of badminton. During his early years, he was also coached and mentored by USA coach of the year, Dick Ng. At age 16, he moved to Colorado Springs to train at the U.S. Olympic Site.

Career

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2004 Olympics

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Bach competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's doubles with partner Kevin Han. They defeated Dorian James and Stewart Carson of South Africa in the first round, then were defeated in the round of 16 by Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen of Denmark.

2005 World Badminton Championships

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From a modest 13th seeded position Howard Bach partnered with Tony Gunawan to win the final of the men's doubles 15–11, 10–15, 15–11, against the Indonesian pair, Candra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto. Thus winning the United States's first ever gold at the World Championships.

The Championships were held at the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim, California.

2008 Olympics

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He partnered with Bob Malaythong in Badminton at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, advancing to the quarterfinals – the furthest any American has ever reached. They were defeated by the Chinese pair, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

2012 Olympics

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Bach and Tony Gunawan competed in the 2012 London Olympics. They were eliminated during the pool play.

Achievements

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World Championships

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, United States   Tony Gunawan   Sigit Budiarto
  Candra Wijaya
15–11, 10–15, 15–11   Gold

World Cup

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2005 Olympic Park, Yiyang, China   Tony Gunawan   Sigit Budiarto
  Candra Wijaya
18–21, 9–21   Bronze

Pan American Games

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Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1999 Winnipeg Convention Centre,
Winnipeg, Canada
  Mark Manha   Brent Olynyk
  Iain Sydie
17–15, 8–15, 6–15   Silver
2003 UASD Pavilion,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  Kevin Han   Erick Anguiano
  Pedro Yang
15–5, 15–3   Gold
2007 Riocentro Sports Complex Pavilion 4B,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  Khan Malaythong   Mike Beres
  William Milroy
20–22, 13–21   Silver
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
  Tony Gunawan   Halim Ho
  Sattawat Pongnairat
21–10, 21–14   Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2007 Riocentro Sports Complex Pavilion 4B,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  Eva Lee   Mike Beres
  Valerie Loker
21–19, 21–16   Gold
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
  Paula Lynn Obañana   Toby Ng
  Grace Gao
11–21, 21–19, 14–21   Bronze

Pan Am Championships

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Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2001 Lima, Peru   Kevin Han 3–7, 1–7, 8–6   Bronze

Men's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1997 Winnipeg Canoe Club,
Winnipeg, Canada
  Kevin Han   Mike Edstrom
  Chris Hales
15–10, 15–7   Gold
2001 Lima, Peru   Kevin Han   Keith Chan
  William Milroy
7–0, 7–1, 7–3   Gold
2007 Calgary Winter Club,
Calgary, Canada
  Khan Malaythong   Mike Beres
  William Milroy
13–21, 19–21   Silver

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2007 Calgary Winter Club,
Calgary, Canada
  Eva Lee   Mike Beres
  Valerie Loker
21–18, 21–17   Gold

BWF Superseries

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The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[2] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011.[3] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2010 Singapore Open   Tony Gunawan   Fang Chieh-min
  Lee Sheng-mu
14–21, 15–21   Runner-up
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix

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The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2002 U.S. Open   Kevin Han   Tony Gunawan
  Khan Malaythong
15–11, 7–15, 7–15   Runner-up
2004 U.S. Open   Tony Gunawan   Mathias Boe
  Carsten Mogensen
15–5, 15–7   Winner
2004 Dutch Open   Tony Gunawan   Thomas Laybourn
  Peter Steffensen
15–8, 15–7   Winner
2007 U.S. Open   Khan Malaythong   Tadashi Ohtsuka
  Keita Masuda
18–21, 11–21   Runner-up
2008 U.S. Open   Khan Malaythong   Halim Haryanto
  Raju Rai
21–14, 21–19   Winner
2009 U.S. Open   Tony Gunawan   Jürgen Koch
  Peter Zauner
21–12, 21–9   Winner
2011 U.S. Open   Tony Gunawan   Ko Sung-hyun
  Lee Yong-dae
9–21, 19–21   Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2007 U.S. Open   Eva Lee   Keita Masuda
  Miyuki Maeda
21–19, 11–21, 19–21   Runner-up
2009 U.S. Open   Eva Lee   Alvin Lau
  Jiang Xuelian
21–13, 21–12   Winner
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

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Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1998 Miami International   Kevin Han 10–15, 1–15   Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Miami International   Kevin Han   Andy Chong
  Mathew Fogarty
15–5, 15–12   Winner
1998 Slovenian International   Mark Manha   Chris Davies
  Matthew Hughes
15–3, 15–5   Winner
1998 Guatemala International   Mark Manha   Ryan Miglin
  Ben Wu
15–6, 15–8   Winner
1998 Mexico International   Mark Manha   Ryan Miglin
  Ben Wu
Walkover   Winner
1999 Peru International   Mark Manha   Mario Carulla
  José Antonio Iturriaga
17–14, 15–6   Winner
1999 Jamaica International   Mark Manha   Bobby Milroy
  William Milroy
15–8, 10–15, 15–11   Winner
1999 Guatemala International   Mark Manha   Bryan Moody
  Brent Olynyk
15–7, 8–15, 15–12   Winner
2000 Canadian International   Mark Manha   Ma Che Kong
  Yau Tsz Yuk
15–13, 3–15, 15–17   Runner-up
2000 Peru International   Mark Manha   Ma Che Kong
  Yau Tsz Yuk
6–15, 6–15   Runner-up
2001 Southern Pan Am Classic   Kevin Han   Tjitte Weistra
  Pedro Yang
5–7, 7–0, 7–0   Winner
2001 Brazil International   Kevin Han   Guilherme Pardo
  Ricardo Trevelin
15–5, 15–6   Winner
2003 Guatemala International   Kevin Han   Keita Masuda
  Tadashi Ohtsuka
6–15, 12–15   Runner-up
2003 Brazil International   Kevin Han   José Antonio Crespo
  Sergio Llopis
15–6, 11–15, 10–15   Runner-up
2004 Peru International   Kevin Han   Rodrigo Pacheco
  Guillermo Perea
15–7, 15–11   Winner
2005 SCBA International   Tony Gunawan   Raju Rai
  Khan Malaythong
1–0 Retired   Winner
2005 U.S. International   Tony Gunawan   Mike Beres
  William Milroy
15–1, 15–2   Winner
2006 Canadian International   Khan Malaythong   Mike Beres
  William Milroy
16–21, 21–19, 12–21   Runner-up
2007 Miami Pan Am International   Khan Malaythong   Mike Beres
  William Milroy
18–21, 19–21   Runner-up
2007 Norwegian International   Khan Malaythong   Mikkel Delbo Larsen
  Jacob Chemnitz
21–15, 21–11   Winner
2007 Irish International   Khan Malaythong   Michael Fuchs
  Roman Spitko
21–15, 21–17   Winner
2008 Canadian International   Khan Malaythong   Keishi Kawaguchi
  Naoki Kawamae
15–21, 15–21   Runner-up
2011 Peru International   Tony Gunawan   Adrian Liu
  Derrick Ng
21–10, 21–9   Winner
2012 Peru International   Tony Gunawan   Adrian Liu
  Derrick Ng
13–21, 21–13, 21–9   Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1998 Miami International   Cindy Shi   Andy Chong
  Barbara McKinley
15–6, 15–11   Winner
2005 U.S. International   Eva Lee   Khan Malaythong
  Mesinee Mangkalakiri
13–15, 12–15   Runner-up
2006 Canadian International   Eva Lee   William Milroy
  Tammy Sun
21–19, 21–15   Winner
2007 Miami Pan Am International   Eva Lee   Mike Beres
  Valerie Loker
17–21, 23–21, 20–22   Runner-up
2007 Irish International   Eva Lee   Wouter Claes
  Nathalie Descamps
21–10, 21–13   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ teamusa.org
  2. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. December 15, 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007.
  3. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". IBadmintonstore. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
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