Philippine shuttlers face tall odds in Asian meet

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino shuttlers will be in for a tough outing after being bracketed in a solid group led by top seed Indonesia in the upcoming Badminton Asia Manila Team Championships next month. 

Made up of Joper Escueta, Ariel Magnaye, Alvin Morada, Solomon Padiz Jr., Paul John Pantig, Ros Pedrosa, Arthur Salvado and Lanz Zafrahe, the Phl men’s team fell into Group A with reigning champion Indonesia and fifth-ranked India after the official draw held yesterday at the Century Park Hotel. 

The Philippine women’s team  composed of Nicole Albo, Sarah Barredo, Mika de Guzman, Geva de Vera, Ysay Leonardo, Chanelle Lunod, Bianca Carlos and Thea Pomar will be up against neighbors Thailand and Indonesia in Group C. 

The continental meet is slated at the refurbished Rizal Memorial Coliseum from Feb. 11-16. 

Other men’s groupings have China, Thailand and Hong Kong in Group B while Singapore, Malaysia and Chinese-Taipei are in Group C. Group D has Korea and Kazakhstan with favorite Japan, which is set to play without injured world No. 1 shuttler Kento Mamota. 

In the women’s pools, reigning champion Japan leads Group W with Hong Kong and Malaysia while Group X has India, Kazakhstan and Korea. Rounding out the women’s division are Singapore, China and Chinese-Taipei in Group Z. 

Only the top two teams from each pool in both divisions will progress to the knockout quarterfinals with the survivors advancing to the Final Four and securing prestigious tickets in the Thomas (men’s) and Uber (women’s) Cups slated this May in Denmark. 

Almost 300 shuttlers from around the continent will participate in this tournament backed by  SMART Communications Inc.,  MVP Sports Foundation, Leisure and Resorts World Corp., Cignal, and TV5.

“We’re happy to help out in the country’s hosting of this prestigious international sports event. This is very much in line with our advocacy of helping nation-building through sports. We strongly believe that the positive values that sports promote can help our people to improve our lives,” said PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, who has been an avid badminton supporter in the past years. 

This Asia Team Championships is the country’s first continental badminton meet hosting in almost 20 years. The Philippines last hosted the individual championships back in 2001.