Newsday's top 10 Nassau boys badminton players for fall 2024
(From left) Michael Li of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK, Jonathan Chau of Jericho and Haoran Xia of Great Neck South.
Newsday’s annual look at the top Nassau boys badminton players for the fall 2024 season, listed in alphabetical order.
(All stats, placements and awards are from last year unless otherwise noted.)
Jonathan Chau, Jericho, Sr.
No doubles team dominated like Chau and fellow senior Jerry Zhang did last year, going 10-0 as the Jayhawks' first doubles team. The duo won its second consecutive doubles title at the Nassau individual championships, and now both will now switch to singles this fall.
Jerry Huang, Jericho, Sr.
Huang went 9-1 in singles, helping Jericho extend its winning streak to 49 games. He is one of 11 returning players for a Jayhawks program that has worn the Nassau crown for seven consecutive years.
Michael Li, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK, Fr.
Coming from a badminton family — his brother Kangxi graduated in 2024 after playing second singles — Li has been on the Hawks’ varsity team since 2022 despite being a freshman. He went 7-3 at first doubles last season and will play first singles this fall.
Tyrone Mai, Wheatley, Jr.
It’s the third year in a row the Wildcats will return their talented trio in singles with Mai, Peter Ouyang and Ricky Deng. Mai leads off at first singles after going 8-2.
Haoran Xia, Great Neck South, Sr.
Xia joined Great Neck South badminton as a seventh-grader. Now he’s a senior, representing the Rebels at first singles after going 9-3.
Jerry Zhang, Jericho, Sr.
Zhang and teammate Jonathan Chau did not drop a set in their doubles matches during the regular season en route to winning the Nassau doubles title. Zhang now will compete in singles, something he did during the Jayhawks' third-consecutive Long Island championship victory.
(From left) Jerry Zhang and Caleb Kao of Jericho.
Ethan Alex and John Song, Srs., Syosset
The duo were the first to win a set last fall against Jericho’s Chau and Zhang in the Nassau doubles tournament semifinals. Coach Tom Rooney said he may split the pair up in certain matchups to better Syosset’s depth after the duo went 11-4.
Caleb Kao and Anvit Vemuri, Srs., Jericho
Both Kao and Vemuri played doubles, each with different partners as the former paired with graduate William Wang to finish as runners-up at the Nassau doubles tournament. Coach Anthony LaRosa said the two could combine forces after Kao went 10-0 and Vemuri went 9-1.