Four medals for Smash Pilipinas in Africa

From L-R: Christian Bernardo, Thea Pomar, Rosman Razak, Yssa Leonardo, Alvin Morada

The Philippines netted four medals in international competition, pulling it off at the 2022 iteration of the Cameroon International in Yaounde.

The duo of Alvin Morada and Yssa Leonardo claimed the mixed doubles title, defeating Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Varivath, 21-19 18-21 22-20 in the final.

Karunakaran and Varivath had earlier dispatched Christian Bernardo and Thea Pomar in the semifinals, 21-17 16-21 21-14, netting a bronze for the Filipino tandem.

Morada and Bernardo secured the other gold in men's doubles, defeating Dhruy Rawat and Chirag Sen, 21-12 21-13, while the other bronze came in women's doubles, with Pomar and Leonardo falling short against Srivedya Gurazada and Pooryisha S Ram, 19-21 14-21.

Two other Filipinos participated in the touranment, with Jewel Albo falling short in men's singles qualifying against Kim Sheng Chua, 17-21 17-21. Mika de Guzman, on the other hand, fell short against Katsuri Radhakrishnan, 14-21 21-10 18-21 in the quarterfinals. The Malaysian would eventually claim the women's singles title.

Philippine Badminton Association vice president Jude Turcuato shares, "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. And, hopefully, we could bring more honor and achievements to the country like what we got here in Africa."

National team head coach Rosman Razak adds, "The players are starting to get the feel of playing continuously, and, hopefully, we will continue to improve and get more success."

The team is currently in Benin for a similar tournament, with upcoming tournaments in Yogyakarta down the line.