Shuttlers named for SEA Games

The cast is set for the Philippine badminton team competing in the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. National coach Arolas (Bogs) Amahit Jr. named the other day eight men and eight women to lead the charge with the goal of making a breakthrough in the sport which has delivered only five bronze medals in the 11-nation competition since 1981.

There are five events in badminton which will be staged at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex. Competing in men’s singles are Ros Pedrosa, Solomon Padiz, Lanz Zafra and Pingkoy Salvado while Sarah Barredo, Nicole Albo, Bianca Carlos and Mika de Guzman will play in the women’s singles.

Two teams are entered in men’s doubles. One pair consists of Peter Magnaye and Alvin Morada. The other is made up of Paul Pantig and Joper Escueta. Two teams will also represent the country in women’s doubles. One tandem lists Thea Mae Pomar and Isay Leonardo and the other has Geva de Vera and Chanelle Lunod. In mixed doubles, the pairs are Magnaye and Pomar and Morada and Leonardo.

The core of the national squad left for Indonesia last Tuesday to train at the Jaya Raya badminton club where 2008 Olympic doubles gold medalist Markis Kido teaches. Four players still seeing action in the UAAP will follow next week. The entire delegation will join an international competition in Indonesia on Oct. 21-27 then return home to play in the Smart National Open in Muntinlupa on Nov. 4-9.

Last Monday, Amahit said he hadn’t received confirmation where the badminton games will be staged in the SEA Games. “The options are Makati and Muntinlupa,” he said. “Wherever is the venue is where the Smart National Open will be held.” PHISGOC executive director Tom Carrasco, however, said the decision for Muntinlupa to host badminton was announced weeks ago.

Amahit said with the Rizal badminton courts under renovation, the team has worked out at the Centro Atletico courts in Cubao. Once the renovation is done, the shuttlers will go back to their homecourt for training.

Amahit described the Philippine team as young and highly-motivated. The senior in the lineup is Magnaye, 27. NU graduate Pedrosa, 21, is the top male player while Barredo, 19, is the top female player. The youngest in the squad is Zafra, 18. At the moment, 12 players are in the national pool receiving monthly allowances from PSC. Two juniors Jason Vanzuela and James Ryan Villarante are also in the pool but not qualified for a monthly stipend.

Carlos and De Guzman, both from Ateneo, are not in the national pool but Amahit recruited them for the SEA Games because of their outstanding performance in different leagues. Carlos was undefeated in her singles matches throughout her UAAP career. Last year, De Guzman played for NCR and won the gold medal in women’s singles at the Palarong Pambansa in Vigan.

Two years ago, the Philippines was shut out in the badminton medal race at the previous SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur where Thailand took four gold medals, Indonesia two and Malaysia one. But there were four events where the team reached the quarterfinals – men’s doubles with Escueta and Carlos Cayanan, women’s singles with Barredo, women’s doubles with Barredo and Leonardo and mixed doubles with Morada and Leonardo. The Philippines’ last medal in badminton came in 2015 when Escueta and Ronel Estanislao claimed the bronze in men’s doubles.

Badminton will be a highlight sport in the SEA Games as one of 12 covered live on TV. The others are basketball, volleyball, football, swimming, diving, athletics, boxing, gymnastics, sepak takraw, taekwondo and e-sports. Badminton was introduced in the regular Olympic calendar in 1992 after it was a demonstration sport in 1972 and 1988. In 1992, the events were men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles. Mixed doubles was added as an event in 1996.

Of the 41 Olympic gold medals awarded in badminton since 1992, China has collected 22, Indonesia 11 and South Korea eight. In the last SEA Games, Indonesia could garner only two gold and four bronze medals compared to Thailand’s four gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Malaysia took one gold, five silver and two bronze medals. Singapore and Vietnam picked up two bronze medals each. The Philippines finished empty-handed. Amahit said he hopes the situation will be different this year.