Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo concluded their campaign at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 with a 10-21, 13-21 defeat against South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in the men’s doubles second round on Wednesday at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The current world No. 48 pair from the Philippines had secured a significant victory against South Africa’s Jarred Elliot and Robert Summers in the first round.
However, facing the tournament ninth seeds, the South Korean duo, proved to be a formidable challenge.
Morada and Bernardo demonstrated their readiness for the challenge early in the first set, narrowing the gap to just three points at 2-5 and 5-8.
Kang and Seo then entered the first interval with three consecutive points and maintained their momentum after the break, establishing dominance over the game.
The Smash Pilipinas duo made a comeback at the beginning of the second game, even taking a 6-5 lead against the more experienced South Koreans.
Despite their efforts, Kang and Seo managed to secure another run into the second interval and ultimately concluded the match in 27 minutes, regardless of the scoreline.
The Philippine national shuttlers will now shift their focus to next month’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. They aim to draw from this experience as well as their past encounters in order to make progress.
