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Malvinne Ann Alcala wowed the local fans as she carried the Filipino fight all the way into the quarterfinal round of the women's singles event Bingo Bonanza Philippine Grand Prix Badminton Championships yesterday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
But Alcala?s feat had to come at the expense of another Filipino as the defeated compatriot Camille Yang, 21-9, 21-7, to advance to the next round.
The youthful Alcala, a 13-year-old prodigy in the badminton scene, used her smarts as well as her precision shots to defeat Yang and add the latter to her list of victims, which included Ella Dorado, who she defeated 21-8, 21-3, in the first round the other day.
She faces next fourth-ranked Jiang Yanjiao of China, who zapped Nguyen Nhung Le Ngoc of Vietnam, 21-13, 21-12.
The unheralded Sachiyo Mai, who upset no.8 Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia, continued her Cinderella-run through the tournament as she booted out Mong Kwan Yi of Hong Kong, 21-13, 21-11, to gain a spot in the Last 8.
Meanwhile, the RP team is holding their own in the men's doubles event as it sent four pairs to the second round, even as its compatriots on the distaff side quickly headed for the exits.
Andrei Babad and Peter Gabriel Magnaye booted out Paul Co and Gregorio Esquillo, 21-10, 21-12; Kelvin Panganiban and Gabriel Villanueva eliminated Joffre Arollano and Cliff Yan, 21-16, 21-13; Emmanuel Garcia and Mark Alvin Natividad smashed Alfredo Mailon and Recson Salvaleon, 21-12, 21-13; and Jobetth Co and Antonino Gadi, defeated Filipino Jaime Junio and Indonesian Aditya Arifin, 21-17, 21-12, in round-of-32 matches.
Failing to make the cut yesterday were qualifiers Jose Martinez and Mikhail Nacisvalencia, who bowed to Indonesians Fernando Kurniawan and Lingga Lie, 12-21, 12-21; Ronel Estanislao and Paul Vivas, who dropped a 16-21, 9-21 setback to another Indonesian rival of Mohammad Ahsan and Bona Septano; Wilfredo Amoroso and Kelvin Alfred Dalisay, who were booted out by Malaysians Yogendran Krishnan and Yeoh Kay Bin, 13-21, 17-21; and Raymond Padilla and Roden Rivera, who were trounced by Indonesians Adnan Fauzi and Tri Krusharjanto, 15-21, 15-21.
Those in the women's class that failed in their bid to advance were Gelita Castilo and Malvinne Alcala, who fell short of their upset bid and lost to Chinese Zhang Jinkang and Wang Siyun, 18-21, 19-21; and Lovely Sawada and Angelica Pardo were outclassed by Hong Kong?s Tse Ying Suet and Chan Tsz Ka, 8-21, 7-21. Camille Yang and Patricia Barredo took a 6-21, 6-21 beating from China?s Wei Yili and Gao Ling while Reyne Calimlim and Danica Bolos succumbed to Japan?s Seiko Yamada and Yuka Hayashi, 12-21, 14-21, as the international players were slowly but surely asserting their might over the local front.
