Philippine badminton bets triumph in Cameroon

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD)-Smash Pilipinas national team bagged two golds and two bronzes at the conclusion of the Cameroon International 2022 recently at the Yaounde Sports Complex.

Alvin Morada and Yssa Leonardo took the mixed doubles title after taking care of India’s Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, 21-19, 18-21, 22-20.

Christian Bernardo and Thea Pomar settled for the bronze after losing their semifinal duel versus 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 featuring mostly Indian tandems. The Filipinos dominated the final against Dhruv Rawat and Chirag Sen, 21-12, 21-13.

Pomar and Leonardo collected the other bronze, exiting in the semifinal of the women’s doubles after a 19-21, 14-21 loss to eventual champions Srivedya Gurazada and Poorvisha Ram also of India.

“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,” said PBAD vice president Jude Turcuato.