Alcala gains Berlin final, thwarts 2 Koreans in junior tourney

MANILA, Philippines—Malvinne Anne Alcala, unfazed by higher-rated opposition, upended two fancied South Koreans one after the other to barge into the finals of the German Juniors International badminton tournament in Berlin on Saturday.

Alcala, the reigning back-to-back Singapore Junior champion, downed Joo I-jeon, 21-19, 21-16, in the quarterfinals and then subdued giant-killer So Yeon-han, 18-21, 21-12, 21-19, to gain a crack at the crown in the week-long event featuring some of the world’s leading junior players.

So earlier slew top seed Cheung Ngan-yi of Hong Kong.

The 17-year-old Alcala, whose campaign is sponsored by the Philippine Badminton Association headed by Vice President and PBA president Jejomar Binay, chair Manny V. Pangilinan and secretary general Rep. Albee Benitez, goes for the crown against Korea’s Jang Mi-lee.

On her way to the finals, Alcala swept past German Luise Helm, 21-13, 21-15, routed joint fifth seed Emily Westwood, 21-9, 21-10, and then tripped Rituparna Das of India, 21-12, 21-18, in the Last 16.

Alcala is the lone Filipina in the tournament, one of the legs of the prestigious European Junior circuit that drew bets from South Korea, India, England, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, Canada, Turkey, Sweden, Netherlands and the Czech Republic.