Malaythong gives badminton a leg-up
For elite athletes in obscure sports, the Olympics can be their 15 minutes of fame.
For Rockville-native Bob Malaythong, a member of the U.S. badminton team, his 15 minutes has come in 45-second increments, starring in a humorous TV commercial for VitaminWater.
In the ad, Malaythong, 27, and his U.S. doubles partner Howard Bach, are fictional Chinese players “Lao” and “Yang.” Their opponents are Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher and Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.
It’s match point of the badminton “world championships,” according to the affected British announcer (think “Best In Show”). And after gulping VitaminWater during a timeout, Ortiz smashes the game winner over the net and into the leg of “Lao.” The commercial ends with the shuttlecock embedded in Malaythong’s calf.
“The USA Badminton office asked us to cast for the commercial,” said Malaythong. “I had no idea that David Ortiz and Brian Urlacher were in it until the day before we left for the commercial shoot in Florida. It was an amazing experience.”
So how did Malaythong and Bach fare in the Olympics?
They fell in quarterfinal round, 30-29, 31-28, to a pair of real Chinese players, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, who went on to win the silver medal.
It was still a triumph for the U.S. pair as they advanced deeper into the elimination tournament than any U.S. doubles team in history.
Malaythong was born in Laos and grew up in Rockville, attending Rock Creek Valley Elementary and Earle Wood Middle schools before moving to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in his high school years.
Recently Malaythong has trained and coached in Orange, Calif., leading Villa Park High School to six straight California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section titles.
His partnership with Bach came about when Bach’s previous partner, Tony Gunwan, failed to gain U.S. citizenship. Gunwan won an Olympic medal in 2000 and won a world championship with Bach in 2005.
Malaythong’s next assignment — coaching a youth badminton program in Marblehead, Mass., where he hopes to double the current enrollment of 100 and develop the next generation of U.S. badminton stars.
His recruiting efforts have perhaps been aided by Urlacher and Ortiz.
“I am just thankful to have a chance to meet such cool guys,” said Malaythong, “and hopefully give badminton exposure and respect from other major sports in America.”
