# Virgil Soeroredjo

Virgil Soeroredjo (born 11 March 1985) is a former Surinamese badminton player and now coach. He competed for Suriname at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also competed for Suriname at 3 Pan Am Games: the 2003 Pan American Games, the 2007 Pan American Games & the 2011 Pan American Games. As a young badminton player of the club SCVU in Suriname Virgil Soeroredjo won numerous juniors titles and was soon selected to represent his country abroad winning several juniors medals at Caribbean, Central American and South American events. Much of his success was with his doubles partner Mitchel Wongsodikromo.

## Multiple Caribbean and Pan Am Juniors badminton champion

Together they grew up to become a badminton force for Suriname in the Pan Am region. In 2000, they won the Pan Am Boys Doubles U-17 juniors title at Cuba after they had already won the Caribbean Boys Doubles titles U-17 & U-19 the same year at Barbados. At the 2000 Carebaco Games, Virgil Soeroredjo won five gold medals and a silver medal. Winning the triple in the U-17 category plus Boys Doubles in the U-19 category and the U-19 team event for Suriname and a second place in Mixed Doubles U-19. In 2001, Virgil Soeroredjo managed to successfully defend four of his five Carebaco juniors titles only losing his singles U-17 title in the final at Jamaica. In 2001 Virgil & Mitchel won Boys Doubles U-17 Gold at the South American Juniors Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That year they also won the Regatas Cup for Boys Doubles U-17 in Lima, Peru. In 2002, Virgil Soeroredjo & Mitchel Wongsodikromo became Pan American Juniors Semi-Champions U-19 in Orange County, USA. At the same event Virgil Soeroredjo also took two bronze medals, one in the U-19 Mixed Doubles category and also in the team event, where the Surinamese juniors team surprisingly beat favorites Canada. In the 2002 Carebaco Games, Virgil Soeroredjo won Gold at the Men's Singles and the Men's Doubles U-19 juniors categories at Puerto Rico. Together with compatriot Carolyn Davids he participated at the Pan American IBF World Academy training camp held in Lima, Peru 2002. In the 2003 Carebaco Games at Trinidad & Tobago, Virgil Soeroredjo lost both the U-19 Boys Singles & Mixed Doubles finals to his compatriot Mitchel Wongsodikromo. Together they eventually won the Boys Doubles U-19 title and the Carebaco Juniors 2003 team event.

## International and national achievements

In 2002, they both won a Men's Singles Bronze medal at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games (CACSO Games 2002) in San Salvador. At that time a special achievement since they were both still 17-year-old juniors. In 2003 Virgil Soeroredjo was part of the first Surinamese badminton team that participated at the Sudirman Cup Mixed teams World Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In 2005 at the Carebaco Open Championships, Virgil Soeroredjo managed to get in the semi-finals Men's Singles achieving a Bronze Medal as well as in the Team Event held in Cuba.
Virgil Soeroredjo gained six National Men's Singles titles in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 & 2014. Internationally he was a triple champion at the Suriname International in 2008 winning all three categories Men's Singles, Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles. In 2009, he won the Men's Singles and Men's Doubles titles at the Suriname International, in 2010 he won the Mixed Doubles title and in 2011, he won the Men's Doubles title at the Suriname International. In 2010, Virgil Soeroredjo & Mitchel Wongsodikromo reached the final at the Bill Graham Miami International and in 2011 they reached the semi-final of that same event. In 2011, Virgil Soeroredjo won both the Suriname International and the Carebaco International in Men's Doubles. In March 2010 Virgil Soeroredjo was also part of the Suriname badminton team that won a Bronze medal Mixed Teams Badminton at the 2010 South American Games in Medellín. In July 2010, Virgil Soeroredjo & Mitchel Wongsodikromo won the only medal, a Bronze, for Suriname at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games by reaching the semi-finales. In 2012 Virgil Soeroredjo was part of the first Suriname Men's badminton team that participated at the Thomas Cup preliminaries in Los Angeles, USA.
In 2009, Virgil Soeroredjo moved to the Netherlands to improve his skills, training under coach Mike van Daal. He participated at the highest badminton club competition level (Eredivisie) for BC Culemborg and BV van Zijderveld. At that time this badminton player started switching his focus on his sports management study at the Johan Cruyff University in Amsterdam. From 2012, the National Association, Surinaamse Badminton Bond was annually organizing a Top 8 Singles event in honor of Virgil Soeroredjo's participation at the 2012 London Olympics. In 2013, Virgil Soeroredjo was planning on attending this event in his home country held by the badminton club of Nieuw Stenov, unfortunately he did not due to his busy study schedule. In November 2013, Virgil attended the National Championships and 7th Suriname International in Paramaribo. In April 2014, he won the 3rd Assuria International Easter Badminton Tournament 2014 in Paramaribo beating young Jamaican talent Samuel Ricketts in the final. In November 2014, Virgil attended the National Championships and 8th Suriname International in Paramaribo. Due to a recurring knee injury, Virgil decided to retire as an international player in December 2015. He then followed the BWF Level 1 and Level 2 Badminton Coaches courses successfully.

### National badminton titles

* 1999 - National Championships : Men's Doubles Silver
* 2000 - National Championships : Men's Singles Silver, Men's Doubles Silver & Mixed Doubles Gold
* 2001 - National Championships : Men's Doubles Gold,
* 2002 - National Championships : No National Championships held that year
* 2003 - National Championships : Men's Singles Silver
* 2004 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold & Mixed Doubles Silver
* 2005 - National Championships : Men's Singles Silver, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Silver
* 2006 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Gold
* 2007 - National Championships : No National Championships held that year
* 2008 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Silver
* 2009 - National Championships : Virgil Soeroredjo did not participate that year
* 2010 - National Championships : Virgil Soeroredjo did not participate that year
* 2011 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Gold
* 2012 - National Championships : Virgil Soeroredjo did not participate that year
* 2013 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Silver
* 2014 - National Championships : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Silver

### International badminton titles

* 1999 - Caribbean Easter Tournament Curaçao : Boys Singles U-15 Silver, Boys Doubles U-15 Gold, Boys Doubles U-19 Bronze & Mixed Doubles U-15 Bronze
* 1999 - Carebaco Juniors Championships : Boys Doubles U-19 Bronze, Team Event U-19 Gold
* 2000 - South American Juniors Championships : Boys Singles U-15 Silver, Boys Doubles U-15 Silver
* 2000 - Caribbean Easter Tournament Curaçao : Boys Singles U-15 Silver, Boys Doubles U-15 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-15 Bronze & Boys Doubles U-19 Bronze
* 2000 - Carebaco Juniors Championships : Boys Singles U-17 Gold, Boys Doubles U-17 Gold & Mixed Doubles U-17 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-19 Silver, Team Event U-19 Gold
* 2000 - Pan Am Juniors Championships : Boys Doubles U-17 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-17 Silver
* 2001 - Carebaco Juniors Championships : Boys Singles U-17 Silver, Boys Doubles & Mixed Doubles U-17 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-19 Gold & Team Event U-19 Gold
* 2001 - Regatas Peru Juniors Open : Boys Singles U-17 Bronze, Boys Doubles U-17 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-17 Bronze
* 2002 - Carebaco Juniors Championships : Boys Singles U-19 Gold & Boys Doubles U-19 Gold
* 2002 - Pan Am Juniors Championships : Boys Doubles U-19 Silver, Mixed Doubles U-19 Bronze & Team Event U-19 Bronze
* 2002 - CACSO Games El Salvador : Men's Singles Bronze Medal
* 2003 - 2003 PAN AM Games Santo Domingo: Participation
* 2003 - Carebaco Juniors Championships : Boys Singles U-19 Silver, Boys Doubles U-19 Gold, Mixed Doubles U-19 Silver, Team Event U-19 Gold, Team Event Seniors Bronze
* 2003 - Sudirman Cup World Championship: 1st Participation Surinamese Mixed Team
* 2005 - Carebaco International Open Championships : Men's Singles Bronze
* 2006 - BC70 Veluwe Open Tournament Vaassen, NL: Men's Singles Gold & Men's Doubles Gold
* 2006 - BC Weesp Tournament, NL : Men's Singles Bronze & Men's Doubles Bronze
* 2007 - Carebaco International Open Championships : Men's Doubles Bronze
* 2007 - Racketeers Tournament Jamaica : Men's Singles A Silver & Men's Doubles A Silver
* 2007 - 2007 PAN AM Games Rio de Janeiro: Participation
* 2008 - 2nd Suriname International : Men's Singles Gold, Men's Doubles Gold & Mixed Doubles Gold
* 2009 - BC70 Veluwe Dauwtrappers Tournament Vaassen, NL: Men's Singles Gold
* 2009 - BC70 Veluwe Open Tournament Vaassen, NL: Men's Singles Gold
* 2009 - Open Alphense Tournament, NL : Men's Singles Gold
* 2009 - 3rd Suriname International : Men's Singles Gold & Men's Doubles Gold
* 2010 - AMOR Tournament Groningen, NL : Men's Singles Silver
* 2010 - CACSO Games Mayaguez : Men's Doubles Bronze Medal
* 2010 - SOUTH AMERICAN GAMES Medellin : Team Event Bronze
* 2010 - Bill Graham Miami International: Men's Doubles Silver
* 2010 - 4th Suriname International : Men's Doubles Silver& Mixed Doubles Gold
* 2011 - Carebaco International Open Championships : Men's Doubles Gold
* 2011 - 2011 PAN AM Games Guadalajara : Participation
* 2011 - Bill Graham Miami International: Men's Doubles Bronze
* 2011 - 5th Suriname International : Men's Doubles Gold
* 2012 - Thomas Cup Pan Am preliminaries: 1st Participation Surinamese Men's Team
* 2012 - 2012 London OLYMPIC GAMES : 2nd Surinamese Badminton Player to participate at the Olympic Games after Oscar Brandon
* 2013 - 7th Suriname International : Men's Doubles Bronze
* 2014 - Carlton GT1 Master toernooi Almere 2014, NL : Men's Singles Bronze
* 2014 - 3rd Assuria International Easter Badminton Tournament 2014, SUR : Men's Singles Gold
* 2014 - Phytalis Drop Shot Grand Prix Toernooi 2014, NL : Men's Singles Bronze
* 2014 - 8th Suriname International : Men's Singles Bronze

## Achievements with results
### Central American and Caribbean Games

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2002 | San Salvador, El Salvador | Pedro Yang | 3–15, 0–15 | Bronze |
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Raymond Dalmau Coliseum, Porta del Sol, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Andrés López Lino Muñoz | 14–21, 17–21 | Bronze |

### BWF International Series/ Future Series

Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2009 | Suriname International | Daniel Paiola | 21-19, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2008 | Suriname International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | 10-21, 21–13, 21–10 | Winner |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2011 | Suriname International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Luis Henrique Dos Santos Jr. Alex Yuwan Tjong | 21-14, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2011 | Carebaco International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Nelson Javier Alberto Rapozo | 22-20, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2010 | Suriname International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Kevin Cordón Rodolfo Ramírez | 14–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2010 | Miami International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Sameera Gunatileka Vincent Nguy | 14–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2009 | Suriname International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Oscar Brandon Raul Rampersad | 21–15, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2008 | Suriname International | Mitchel Wongsodikromo | Irfan Djabar Dylan Darmohoetomo | 21–15, 21–15 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Suriname International | Mireille van Daal | Mitchel Wongsodikromo Priscille Tjitrodipo | 21-8, 21-10 | Winner |
| 2008 | Suriname International | Nathalie Haynes | Mitchel Wongsodikromo Jill Sjauw Mook | 21-16, 21-16 | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament
    BWF Future Series tournament

## Personal life

Virgil Soeroredjo and his wife Willeke have two daughters. Virgil Soeroredjo graduated in 2018 as sports marketeer from the Johan Cruijff University in the Netherlands and was trainer/coach at the Dutch premier division club The Flying Shuttle Barendrecht in the 2018/2019 season.