August 23 ------ Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo secured a first-round victory over South Africa's Jarred Elliott and Robert Summers, 21-17, 21-13, in the men's doubles at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023.
The Philippines' last appearance in the top-level competition was in 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia. At that time, two men's doubles pairs, Ronel Estanislao and Joper Escueta, as well as Paul Vivas and Ariel Magnaye, competed against the top contenders. The Filipino pair, currently ranked 46th in the world, broke free from a 12-all tie and secured four consecutive points, establishing a 16-12 lead. This advantage proved pivotal as the two pairs exchanged points, ultimately concluding the opening set.
In the second set, Morada and Bernardo capitalized on an opening and exploited the defensive vulnerabilities of the reigning All Africa Badminton champions, amassing an impressive 11-3 lead during the second interval. While Elliott and Summers attempted to keep the match engaging, the deficit proved insurmountable. Morada and Bernardo sealed the match after a 24-minute encounter.
Moving forward, the dynamic Smash Pilipinas duo is set to face South Koreans and ninth-seeds Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Sung Jae in the next round, after the latter received byes into the Round of 32. Morada is poised to return to the action on Tuesday evening (Philippine time) with the aim of replicating this victory in the mixed doubles category, this time partnering with Alyssa Leonardo. The Filipino pair will go head-to-head against Hong Kong's Chung Man Tang and Ying Suet Tse in a bid to secure a place in the second round.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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