Magnaye-Pomar pair leads way for Pinoys

The Philippine pair of Peter Gabriel Magnaye and Thea Marie Pomar, and Alvin Morada and Alyssa Yasbel Leonardo turned back their respective opponents Friday night to barge into the semifinals of mixed doubles in the Sydney International Badminton 2019 in Sydney, Australia.

The Magnaye-Pomar pair downed Australia’s Ming Chuen Lim and Yingzi Jiang, 21-15, 21-17, while the Morada-Leonardo duo bested Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah and Serena Kani, 22-20, 21-18, to secure spots in the last four.

As of presstime, Magnaye and Pomar were battling fifth seed Po Li-Wei and Yu Chien Hui of Chinese Taipei, who trounced Tran Hoang Pham and Sylvina Kurniawan of Australia, 21-12, 21-13, while Morada and Leonardo were tackling No. 4 Oliver Leydon-Davis and Anona Pak of Australia, a 21-14, 21-18 winner over Thailand’s Bowornwatanuwong Phutthaporn and Indonesia’s Ririn Amelia.

There’s the possibility of an all-Filipino finale, assuming that both Philippine squads end up victorious.

Magnaye and Morada made it to the semis in the men’s doubles after hurdling China’s Jin Yi Lun and Tang Yin, 12-21, 21-16, 21-10, and were battling Taipei’s Liao Kuan Hao and Po Li Wei, who outlasted South Korea’s Hyung Seok Kang and Kim Donghun, 21-23, 21-19, 21-14, at press time.

Magnaye and Pomar’s other wins came at the expense of No. 6 Michael Soon How Lim and Victoria He, 21-13, 21-13, in the first round and Dylan Soedjasa and Justine Villegas of Australia, 21-12, 2116, while Morada and Leonardo made it this far by shocking second pick Mitchell Wheller and Hsuan Yu Wendy, 21-12, 21-15, in the opening round and Boris Ma and Jennifer Tam of Australia, 21-8, 21-7, in the next.

Ros Leonard Pedrosa and Lanz Ralf Zafra made it out of the qualifiers then hurdled their first-round opponents in sensational fashion but lost their way in the second round where they were shown the door in the men’s singles.

Pedrosa pulled the rug from under No. 6 Zvonimir Durkinjak of Croatia, 21-11, 16-21, 21-13, but succumbed to Lim Chong King of Malaysia, 13-21, 8-21, while Zafra stunned No. 8 Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei, 21-15, 21-16, but fell to Malaysia’s Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, 8-21, 15-21.

In women’s singles, qualifier Airah Mae Nicole Albo exited early after losing to Aussie Louisa Ma, 19-21, 16-21.