Berce, Tablante settle for runner-up honors

Seanna Berce and Psalm Tablante secured a historic silver medal for the Philippines in the girls’ U15 doubles as the inaugural Philippine Junior International Series presented by the Philippine Sports Commission came to a close on Sunday at Gameville Central Park in Mandaluyong City.

The University of Perpetual Help System Dalta students battled Malaysia’s Leanne Fong and Xin Lian Yiew until the final rally, but the guest pair prevailed, 21-19, 21-13, to become the tournament’s first-ever champions.

“We are sad that we lost, but we will come back stronger. We will make up for this,” Berce said.

“I feel the same way as Seanna, but we know that wasn’t our 100 percent. Still, we gave our best today and worked well together, and what’s important is that we made it to the finals,” Tablante added.

Despite the defeat, the 12-year-old pair from Laguna cherished the opportunity to represent the Philippines and show what young Filipino athletes can accomplish when given the chance.

“This is extremely important to us because we really had no budget. But we were surprised when the chance came up, so we grabbed the opportunity right away and prepared hard for it,” said Tablante, a native of Biñan.

Fong and Yiew’s victory highlighted Malaysia’s strong showing in the tournament, which brought together young badminton players from more than 30 countries.

Doubles specialist Khairul Azlan Khashah emerged as a two-time champion after capturing both the mixed and men’s U19 doubles titles.

The 16-year-old Khashah and Nur Aina Maisarah defeated Vietnam’s Nguyen Tat Duy Loi and Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 21-16, 21-8, in the mixed U19 final.

Khashah later teamed up with Yusuf M. Iqbal to claim the men’s U19 doubles crown, edging their opponents, 21-16, 17-21, 23-21.

Julius Yeo also delivered gold for Malaysia in the boys’ U15 singles, defeating Thailand’s Thadesha Udomhunsakul, 21-14, 21-9.

Hwee Ling Leong and Min Yi Teoh added another Malaysian title in the women’s U19 doubles after escaping Thailand’s Kungkaew Kakanik and Montra Sae Jiew, 21-16, 21-19.

Kakanik bounced back in the women’s U19 singles, beating Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen, 22-20, 14-21, 21-13, while Nguyen Tat Duy Loi claimed the men’s U19 singles title after overcoming Malaysia’s Leong Din Shan, 20-22, 21-17, 21-16.

Thailand also secured both the boys’ and mixed U15 doubles titles.

Sanwat Choomark and Kamolporn Saelor swept compatriots Shuwichak Meechai and Sirikhorn Chongcharoen, 21-13, 21-17, in the mixed U15 doubles final.

Udomhunsakul bounced back from his singles loss by winning the boys’ U15 doubles alongside Patsakorn Watcharapraphaiphan. The Thai pair rallied past Choomark and Worapat Saengvanich, 16-21, 21-17, 21-18, in a thrilling finale.

India claimed the remaining title in the girls’ U15 singles, with its representative defeating Malaysia’s En Yu Lim, 21-13, 21-16.