¡¡LOS ANGELES, Aug. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- US duo Tony Gunawan and Howard Bach upset second seeded pair Condra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto from Indonesia to win the first gold for the United States at the world badminton championships here on Sunday.

    Gunawan and Bach beat Wijaya and Budiarto 15-11, 10-15 and 15-11 amid loud applause from the US audience. "Today is like a dream come true," said Gunawan after the match. "It's unbelievable."

    Gunawan and Bach, seeded 13th, routed top-seeded Jens Erikson and Martin Lundgaard Hensen of Denmark in a stunning victory in the quarter-finals on Friday.

    The US duo continued to make history on Saturday when they ousted fourth seeded Luluk Hadiyanto and Yulianto Alven of Indonesia in the semi-finals, securing at least a silver medal for the first time for the US in world championships.

    "I could only dream of what has happened this week," said Bach,born in Vietnam, after winning the semi-final on Saturday. "The American mentality is they want winners. Second place is just the first loser. "

    The Vietnamese immigrant, who works part time at retail store, said he hoped his medal will help promote badminton as a sport nota picnic activity in the United States.

    Gunawan, who moved to the United States in 2002 from Indonesia after winning a gold medal in men's double at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said their goal was just to get into the quarter-finals.

    Not yet a US citizen, Gunawan won a waiver from the International Federation of Badminton to represent the country at the world championships.

    Gunawan, 30-year-old, said would devote more time in the future to coach Bach and other young players for the US team. Enditem