Alvin Morada and Alyssa Leonardo suffered defeat at the hands of Hong Kong’s Chun Man Tang and Ying Suet Tse, 10-21, 12-21, leading to their exit from the mixed doubles event of the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 on Tuesday at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The current world No. 61 pair barely qualified, earning points from their victories in the Cameroon International and Benin International last year, following in the footsteps of Kennevic and Kenny Asuncion in the same event in the Worlds.
Morada and Leonardo had a slow start in the opening set, allowing the Hong Kong duo to establish a comfortable 11-6 lead at the first interval. Five consecutive points from Tang and Tse made it difficult to recover, resulting in a 1-0 lead for their opponents.
The Filipino pair managed to keep it close at the beginning of the second game, but Hong Kong secured a three-point streak, leading 7-4. From that point on, the experienced former world No. 2 pair from Hong Kong demonstrated their skill, ending the campaign of the Smash Pilipinas duo in the mixed doubles event.
Morada aims to rebound from this defeat with his men’s doubles partner, Christian Bernardo, on Wednesday. The world No. 46 tandem will face South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae for a spot in the Round of 16.
