The Philippine National Badminton Team (PBAD)-Smash Pilipinas Juniors have made history at the 2022 Asia Junior Sports Exchange Games by winning a silver medal – the team’s first in 13 years.
The PBAD-Smash Pilipinas Juniors brought home a medal for the first time since 2009 after finishing in second place at the Asia Junior Games held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 15–20.
“This is a very proud moment sa Philippine National team and of course sa Junior’s Team because this is their first time competing abroad, All of them, pero they grabbed the silver…,” Coach Bianca Carlos said in her Radyo Pilipinas interview on September 20.
[“This is a very proud moment for the Philippine National team and of course for the Junior’s Team because this is their first time competing abroad, All of them, but they grabbed the silver…”]
She added, “A history has been made nga po sa time namin kasi the last medal we won was 2009 pa, bronze medal. Pero ngayon, for this year, nakuha namin yung silver nakakaproud po talaga para po sa amin.”
[A history has been made because the last medal we won was in 2009, a bronze medal. But now, for this year, we got the silver, which makes us really proud.”]
The Philippine team first took the top spot in the group games after defeating Team Ibaraki Japan (3-2) and Team Tokyo B Japan (4-1), propelling the PBAD-Smash Pilipinas to the semifinals.
In the semis, the Filipino athletes defeated the team from Delhi, India, (3-2), to send the team to the finals against Singapore.
According to PBAD-Smash Pilipinas Juniors team member Sean Aniano, they did not expect everything they achieved in the tournament.
“Hindi po namin inexpect na aabot kami as a silver medalist, pero naniwala po kami sa sarili namin na kaya namin; Ipaglalaban po namin yung pride at [ang] bansang Pilipinas.”
[“We didn’t expect to be the silver medalist, but we believed in ourselves that we could do it. We will fight for pride and {the} country]
Here are the 2022 Asia Junior Sports Exchange Games silver medalists:
Boys:
- Jamal Rahmat Pandi
- Clark Justine Brillantes
- Sean Matthew Aniano
Girls:
- Christel Rei Fuentespina
- Frente Macalib-Og
- Andrea Princess Hernandez
The Smash Pilipinas Badminton Team captured the gold at the 2019 Sydney International tourney in Australia. The Philippine delegation placed first and third in the Mixed Doubles, earning a podium finish in the competition.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to PBAD-Smash Pilipinas Juniors for making history with its first medal in 13 years!
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