National Badminton on at RMSC hall

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Open-Ming Ramos Youth Cup Badminton Championships unwraps today with the core of the national badminton team and a number of rising stars slugging it out for top honors in various divisions at the Philippine Badminton Association Hall at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Malvinne Ann Alcala, coming off a victory in the Australian Juniors, heads the cast of over 400 in the five-day tournament offering a total cash prize fund of P500,000.

Others fancied to shine in the event are Ariel Magnaye, Joper Escueta, Ronnel Estanislao and Paul Vivas who have undergone the stringent first two weeks of training under topnotch Indonesian coach Rexy Mainaky.

No less than former PBA president, former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos will grace the opening ceremony at 8 a.m., today followed by registration at the Philippine Sports Commission Badminton Hall.

Also expected to appear in the opening rites are PBA president, Vice President Jejomar Binay and secretary general, Rep. Albee Benitez. Telecommunications tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, the PBA chair, has also been invited to attend the ceremonies.

The tournament, sponsored by Victor/PCOME, Binggo Bonanza, Sun Cellular and the Philippine Sports Commission, also serves as a prelude to the MVP Sports Foundation-Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) three-leg circuit which fires off May 19 in Cebu.

Mainaky said he’s expecting his young bunch to display the fruits of their hardwork as the team trains three times a day everyday at the newly refurbished Badminton Hall. He added that the national team is given all the food and supplements they needed for their tough training regimen.

Alcala recently won gold medal in the 2012 Lin-Ning Australian juniors internationals held in Madelay, Western Australia. She beat Indonesia’s Setyana Florencya Mapasa, 22-20, 21-10, in the final match that lasted just 32 minutes.

The 16-year-old most promising shuttler, who had two runner-up finishes in the Italian and German Juniors, also teamed up with Theodore Christopher Matthew Co to snare the bronze medal in the mixed doubles, clobbering local pair Daniel Guda and Jennifer Tam (21-9, 21-12) in the quarterfinals.

Co and Mark Alcala, Malvinne’s younger brother, also took the bronze in the men’s doubles after a 21-15, 21-16 victory over Sri Lanka’s Charindu Hapuarchchi and Ravindu Keshan Ranatunga.