PBAD eyes spots in LA Olympics

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) will shift its focus to smashing its stuff in the international stage after the rousing success of the 2024 Philippine Badminton Open (PBO) in two different cities.

Over 400 players from across the archipelago duked it out in the PBO backed by PLDT, Smart and MVP Sports Foundation that saw Smash Pilipinas aces Jelo Albo and Mika de Guzman reign supreme in the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Now, the goal is to hit it big abroad with the grand goal of making it to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“Our two main goals is, one, prepare for the next Olympics in LA by securing resources to join more international tournaments to earn points and qualify. The other focus is our grassroots program, concentrating on our juniors’ program and schools to discover emerging talents,” said PBAD secretary general Carla Lizardo-Sulit.

To do that, PBAD is keen on fielding bets for a tougher competition in the next levels abroad.