Lao Voices

Bob Malaythong, championship badminton player, who was born in Vientiane, Laos is representing the USA at the 2008 Olympic Games. He will be teaming up with Howard Bach for men’s badminton. It’s really nice to hear about these things once in a while. And if you ever catch the VitaminsWater commercial on tv (or Youtube), Malaythong and Bach are fictional Chinese Badminton players. Notice how Malaythong’s name is “Lao”. Very funny!

Here is a little excerpt of his story. You can read more about it at the NBC Olympic website:

Forced move

Malaythong came to the U.S. when he was eight years old. He was the youngest in his family and came with his sister and mom. “I had mixed feelings because I was leaving a lot of friends behind, but I heard a lot when I was a kid in Laos,” Malaythong said. “I mean we didn’t have much there so all we had was a few shirts here and there, but it was satisfying because you

didn’t know what was out here in America, but once I came here I realized how poor we were in Laos so I didn’t take a lot of things for granted.”

Star struck
Usually badminton stars don’t get much TV airtime. That all changed when VitaminWater enlisted the help of Malaythong and Bach to play a pair of fictional Chinese players. Their opponents? The Chicago Bears’ Brian Urlacher and Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz. In the commercial, where VitaminWater made Ortiz and Urlacher into stud badminton players, Bach was seen cowering from a diving shot from the Bears’ linebacker, and Malaythong suffered a shuttle embedded in his leg when Ortiz slammed it in there. It was all in good fun, and while it received some negative criticism in badminton circles, it created exposure through clear fiction, as pointed out by Bach.

And thanks to the internet, we have updates on the game. “Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong, the lone USA badminton athletes remaining in the 2008 Olympic Games, dropped their quarterfinal match to the Chinese team of Yun Cai and Haifeng Fu two sets to none by scores of 21-9 and 21-10. Despite the loss, the duo made history for the U.S. by advancing farther in an Olympic badminton tournament than any previous American.” - NBC

Win or lose, I’m sure it was an unforgettable experience of a lifetime. Congratulations on making it to the 2008 Olympics Bob.