ASIAN GAMES: Young Abad-Malazarte pair impresses in Asian Games padel debut

MANILA – The future looks bright for Pilipinas Padel bets Danna Abad and Joshea Malazarte after their breakthrough performance at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.

The youngest pair in the national team entered the main draw as the lowest-seeded duo at No. 23 but advanced to the semifinals and wound up fourth in the sport’s debut at the quadrennial event.

Abad and Malazarte beat Saudi Arabia’s Samaher Kurdi and Lina Alabdullatif, 6-1, 6-0; Hong Kong’s Chan Wing and Lau Hiu, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3; and Iran’s Saba Najafi Dehaghi and Neda Mohammad Taghipour, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, to reach the semifinals.

The Filipinas bowed to Indonesia’s Fadona Kusumawati and Fitriani Sabatini, 0-6, 0-6, in the semifinals, then missed the podium after losing to Indonesia’s Novela Putri and Beatrice Gumulya by the same score in the bronze-medal match.

Japan’s Saki Tsukamoto and Saki Tokumoto defeated Kusumawati and Sabatini, 6-3, 6-4, in the final.

“Being part of the Asian Games is a huge step for padel in the Philippines. Our athletes showed that they can compete on this stage, and more importantly, they gained the experience of going up against some of the best in Asia,” Padel Pilipinas chief Jeff Cheng said in a news release Sunday.

“This is an important foundation for where we want to take the sport next."

The Philippines’ other women’s pair, Marian Capadocia and Tao Yee Tan, defeated Kazakhstan’s Albina Khabibulina and Mariya Sinitsyna, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, but fell to Hong Kong’s Hiu Laam Chan and Yik Yan Law, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, in the second round.

In the men’s division, national team captain Argil Cañizares and Jason Lapidus beat Indonesia’s Christian Alvin Edison and Giorgio Soermarno, 6-1, 6-4, and Hong Kong’s Kwan Lam Vincent Chau and Lok Pui Lawrence Lo, 6-2, 6-2, before losing to Malaysia’s Christian Didier Chin and Aidan Yunus, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, in the quarterfinals.

Abdulqoahar Allian and Raymark Gulfo ended their campaign with a 1-6, 0-6 loss to the United Arab Emirates’ Fares Al Janahi and Abdullah Alabdulla in the second round.

“We are proud of how every athlete represented the Philippines in Nagoya. Some matches did not go our way, but each pair showed resilience, competed hard, and gained valuable experience on the Asian Games stage. This is only the beginning, and we look forward to seeing these athletes continue to grow and push the sport forward," Padel Pilipinas Secretary General Duane Santos said.