PHILIPPINE FIRST LADY A SMASHER IN INDONESIA
by Mike Grossman (from a report filed by Y.M. Fong)

December 3, 1996 (New Shuttlenws) - Amelita Ramos, the wife of the President of the Philippines and the president of the Philippine Badminton Association, surprised her Indonesian hosts at the national badminton center in Cipayung, Indonesia with her badminton skill when she uncorked an unreturnable smash at Hani Setiani, a top member of the Indonesian national under-19 team, during an informal match.

The fiftyish Philippine First Lady later proved that her rally-winning smash was no fluke when she again scored with a similiar shot.

Mrs. Ramos as well as Fidel Ramos, the Philippine President, are avid badminton fans and players. Mrs. Ramos was in her younger days a top junior player in the northeastern United States of America where she went to school - this was in the days when American ladies were among the dominant players in the world. Mr. Ramos took up the sport when he was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.

The Philippine President and First Lady are in Indonesia for a summit meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and the host Indonesians, aware of the Ramos couple's love for badminton, arranged the visit to the national badminton center.

During her stay in Cipayung, Mrs. Ramos expressed her opinion that Pilipinos, being of the same physical build as their Indonesian neighbors, could and should be excellent badminton players, if they would be as crazy about badminton as they are about basketball. The skill she displayed against Setiani certainly showed that her thesis may be correct.