The tandem of Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong of the USA demolished Chris and Roelof Dednam of South Africa 21-10 and 21-16 to move towards the quarterfinals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The match lasted only 20 minutes.

If you can remember, the high-flying Howard Bach partnered with Tony Gunawan to win the World Championships in Anaheim, California in 2005. That was a first for the US in this sport mostly lorded over by Asians. It bolstered the sports popularity in the US since it was covered by ESPN. Most of the US team members are of Asian descent. Gunawan, on the other hand, is a former world champion donning the Indonesia colors. I wonder why he is not in the Olympics.

Cheers to the US team! And may they last long in this tourney.

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