The Philippine national youth badminton team showed promise in future competitions following the victories they have amassed in the past few weeks. The finishes featured gold and silver medal-finishes in Australia and three third-place finishes in Korea, Sri Lanka and Japan.
In Sri Lanka last month, Gelita Castilo, Janelle de Vera, Dia Magno and Malvinne Alcala stunned shuttlecock powerhouse India in the quarterfinals 2-1 but eventually lost to Malaysia in the semifinals. The group settled for bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Youth Under-16 tournament held in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. Other teammates who took part in the event were Lance Bautista, Elijah Boac, Carlos Cayanan, Kenneth Monterubio, Gerald Sibayan and Paul Co.
Former Philippine First Lady Amelita Ramos stressed that there’s a need for the country’s top badminton shuttlers to compete in international competitions in order to hone their skills. However, she added that there’s not much funding set aside for these initiatives or for new Prince badminton equipment. Ramos is currently the president of the Philippine Badminton Association.
Ramos personally hosted a meeting last week to honor the players. Arolas Amahit Jr and Ralph Ian Mendez were commended for winning a gold medal at the Arafura Games held in Australia last May. The duo stunned India’s M. Desaymoz and F. Kaddour to clinch the men’s doubles title. In the men’s singles final, Mendez lost to Chong Chan of China to settle for silver.
Other players making waves in international competitions include Joella Geva de Vera and Marina Caculitan who captured third place in Korea for the 16th Woncheon Cup Preliminary School Badminton Championships. In Japan, the Philippine team clinched the bronze medal at the Asia Junior Sports 2009.