Alcala stuns rivals, reaches NZ quarters

MANILA, Philippines - Malvinne Ann Alcala knocked off two higher-rated rivals, including Indonesia’s Ana Rovita, 21-16, 21-17, to roll into the quarterfinal round of the Li-Ning New Zealand International Challenge 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand Friday.

Alcala, honing her craft and chasing world ranking points abroad, toppled former top Filipino player Karyn Velez, now representing the US, 21-14, 21-19, in their round-of-32 match then stunned Rovita to reach the Last 8 of the tournament which lured some of the leading players in the Asia-Pacific region.

It was indeed a pair of inspiring victories for the 16-year-old Alcala, currently ranked 113th who humbled the No. 84 Velez in 31 minutes before repulsing the No. 66 Rovita in 34 minutes.

But the ace Filipina shuttler, a former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos protégé who swept the Open and U-19 titles in last year’s Ming Ramos National Open, faces a daunting task in her hunt for a semis berth as she battles Hong Kong’s top player and veteran campaigner Yip Pui Yin, who bundled out Naoko Fukuman of Japan.

Christopher Flores, the other Filipino in the fold, swept Mexico’s Lino Muñoz, 21-15, 21-18, in the first round but bowed to No. 2 seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, 9-21, 9-21.

Meanwhile, Alcala, whose campaign is sponsored by the Kuala Lumpur Racket Club and the Philippine Badminton Association and coached by national assistant mentor Malvin Alcala, is also set to see action in the Yonex Australian Open Gold Grand Prix 2011 slated April 5-10, in Melbourne, Australia.