Sports is one of the richest sources of showbiz material, especially basketball which has contributed many of today’s popular actors (among them Benjie Paras, Chris Tiu, Joey Marquez, Freddie Webb, et al).
Anybody from badminton?
Mark Shelley Alcala could be “it” but no thanks, he’d rather stick to sports.
“He has the looks,” said immigration lawyer Jemela Nettles, “and he could easily make it in showbiz.”
Mark has been making a sterling record as a badminton star in the US.
Funfare learned that Mark “Marky” Shelley Alcala was born on June 19, 1999, in Kawit, Cavite, the second of four children of Malvin and Shirley Alcala.
“I was introduced to badminton when I was in first grade by my dad who was also my coach,” Mark told Funfare. “He was once one of the top badminton singles player in the Philippines.”
Marky has risen to the very top of his field to sustained national and international acclaim, with his achievements recognized in the field of athletics. As a junior in the Philippines, he had achieved exceptional and virtually unprecedented record in badminton tournaments.
Marky’s extraordinary ability in athletics had been recognized early. At 11, he beat players in the 17-under/19-under category. At 13, he won his first Philippines national title in the Open category of Men’s Singles, beating all other male players regardless of age.
Marky’s achievements in competitive badminton have been recognized in the field through extensive reports on his tournament success and his stature as an internationally qualified badminton player. As a junior badminton player in the Philippines, he was the recipient of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Award for his badminton successes and prowess. He was one of the five brilliant youngsters who were awarded the Tony Siddayao Awards in honor of the late sports editor acknowledged as the dean of local sports-writing. No less than then Philippine Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay handed the award.
At 12, Alcala showed promise when he topped his division in the Li Ning Singapore Youth International Series in 2009 and 2011.
Before going to the US two years ago, Marky had already enjoyed unprecedented success both internationally and in the Philippines. He was the winner of multiple National Championships, at both adult and junior level, while competing against players many years older than him, and his international titles included first place finishes at the Li Ning Singapore Youth International, the Australia Junior International, and at the Swiss Junior International.
While still a junior player, Marky was a member of his country’s adult team and in 2013 he was selected to represent the Philippines in BWF’s 2013 Sudirman Cup, the premier world adult team competition which affirms the exceptional level he had risen to at that time.
As of March 23, Marky was ranked No. 1 in the US in Men’s Singles, No. 2 in Men’s Doubles and No. 2 in Mixed Doubles.
For any player to be the top ranked badminton athlete in the country in a particular discipline can be regarded as a career highlight and a substantial achievement, to be ranked in the top two positions in a second discipline is exceptional, and to be ranked No. 1 or 2 in all three disciplines at the same time is extraordinary and almost unprecedented in an era in which many elite badminton players are either singles or doubles specialists.
This success followed on from Alcala’s performance at the 2017 Yonex Boston Open at which in reaching the semifinals in Men’s Singles (and also in Men’s Doubles) he beat Sattawat Pongnairat, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian and Pan-Am Games gold medalist. Marky therefore has the distinction of being able to claim to be a National Champion of two different countries (the USA and the Philippines).
Commented Dean Schoppe, a member of every international level USA badminton team or competition (including the Olympic Games), “Mark’s achievements in competitive badminton have been recognized in the field through extensive reports on his tournament success and his stature as an internationally qualified badminton player.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)