National team members Christian Bernardo and Paul John Pantig got a glimpse of how the opposition will be in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam during the Smart Badminton Asia Championships 2022 on Thursday at the Muntinlupa Sports Center in Muntinlupa City.
The 26-year-old Pantig and the 24-year-old Bernardo took on world no. 44 Malaysian partners Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee and fell in a 7-21, 12-21 setback following a men’s doubles, second-round encounter that lasted just 27 minutes.
Pantig, an enlisted man in the Philippine Navy, said they need more patience and control of the ball the next time they meet the Malaysian duo at the Bac Giang venue in Hanoi.
“Sobrang konti lang ang rally namin. We need more patience and control of the ball. We were rushing our shots against them,” said Pantig, who is also first timer in a world-class level encounter and with new national coach Rosnan Razak watching over them.
Bernardo, a returning player to the national squad, led a small comeback in the second set after the Malaysians took a 13-6.
Bernardo’s smashes allowed the Filipino tandem to get close, 10-13. But a series of errors after the Malaysians went on the offensive allowed Man and Kai to move ahead, 19-11.
Earlier, world no. 7 Pusarla V. Sindhu of India earned a place in the quarterfinals with a win over Singapore’s Yue Yann Jaslyn Hooi, 21-16, 21-16, in the women’s singles’ Round of 16.
Sindhu earlier hurdled a tough matchup with Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei to win, 18-21, 27-25, 21-9.
Sindhu will take on world No. 9 He Bing Jao of China in the last eight, as the Chinese fifth-seed took down Japan’s Ohori Aya in a three-setter, 18-21, 21-13, 21-13.
World no. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, meanwhile, fended off the challenge of Indonesia’s Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi, 21-23, 21-9, 21-19.
In the men’s singles, world No. 52 Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia got past Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu, 21-19, 22-20, while compatriot and world no. 8 Jonathan Christie and reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore arranged a quarterfinal showdown. Christie fought off Daren Liew of Malaysia, 21-14, 13-21, 21-19, while Loh downed Japanese Koki Watanabe, 21-16, 21-6.
The men’s doubles saw another upset as Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang of China dominated world No. 2 pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, 21-9, 21-15.
In the women’s side, top-ranked pair Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan shrugged off Malaysians Anna Ching Yik Cheong and Teoh Mei Xing, 21-18, 21-16, to move into the next round.
China also advanced in the mixed doubles with current world No. 2 Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong against Adnan Maulana and Mychelle Crhystine Bandaso, 21-11, 21-13.
The tournament is made possible by SMART, MVP Sports Foundation, Li-Ning, Cignal, TV5, One Sports, Robinson’s Land, Premium Megastructure Inc., Philippine Badminton Association, Badminton Asia, the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Sports Commission, Muntinlupa Mayor Fresnedi and the City of Muntinlupa.