The Philippine national badminton team ended the 2022 Benin International on a rousing note, amassing the three golds at stake in all the doubles events, Sunday at the Gymnase Institut Régional de Santé Publique in Ouidah.
Alvin Morada and Yssa Leonardo took two of these titles in this tournament which is part of the Badminton World Federation’s Future Series, including the all-Filipino final in mixed doubles.
Morada, a National University alumnus, and Leonardo, a De La Salle University product, took down fellow Filipinos Christian Bernardo and Thea Pomar, in three games, 21-13,18-21, 21-17, in a solid 42-minute battle for that mixed doubles gold to close out the tournament.
“It was a great performance for the players these past two tournaments in Africa, and to have both pairs in the finals in mixed doubles showed what we can do,” said head coach Rosman Razak.
Earlier, Morada and Bernardo made quick work of Nigeria’s Saddam Sidi Rufai and Khalil Safana Shamsuddeen, 21-12, 21-9, in the final of the men’s doubles, while Leonardo and Pomar also fashioned a similar drubbing of Egypt’s Jana Abdelkader and Nour Ahmed Youssri, 21-13, 21-17, in the women’s side.
Singles players Jewel Angelo Albo and Mika De Guzman both exited the competition in the second round.
Albo lost a pulsating three-gamer against Malaysia’s Kim Sheng Chua, 10-21, 21-8, 19-21, while De Guzman absorbed a tighter three-set defeat to number 3 seed Amro Domou of Jordan, 21-19, 16-21, 14-21, in the said round.
A couple of weeks ago, the team also bagged two golds at the conclusion of the Cameroon International 2022.
Alvin Morada and Yssa Leonardo took the mixed doubles title after taking care of India’s Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath in three games, 21-19, 18-21, 22-20. Christian Bernardo and Thea Pomar dealt with the bronze after losing the semifinal to the same Indian pair, 17-21, 21-16, 14-21.
Morada and Bernardo took the other gold in the men’s doubles, besting the field consisting of mostly Indian tandems. The Filipinos dominated the final against Dhruv Rawat and Chirag Sen, 21-12, 21-13.
“I am immensely proud of the performance of our national athletes. The results show what our athletes can do, given our support. We vow to join more tournaments in the future for them to gain more exposure and experience,” PBAD vice president Jude Turcuato said.
