MALAYSIAN Shahrul Shazwan and national player Sarah Jane Barredo will defend their respective singles’ open crowns starting this week in the 11th Prima Badminton Championships at the Powersmash Badminton Court in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.
Shazwan, last year’s men’s open singles winner, will return and prepare for the longest and most prestigious badminton tournament in the country sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association and affiliated with the Philippine National Ranking System.
But Shazwan will be facing a daunting task in defending his title this year as 2016 Prima Pasta open singles’ champion Michael Kevin Cudiamat, R-Jay Baquiran Ormilla, national players Ross Leenard Pedrosa, Lanz Zafra and Arthur Salvado, among others, are going to challenge him for the title.
“I’m no longer part of the national team so my goal in this tournament is to get even with the Malaysian (Shazwan) if ever I will face him because he beat me last year. I’m also willing to prove myself that I can still play,” said Cudiamat.
Last year, Shazwan beat Ormilla in the men’s singles open finals, while Barredo outplayed fellow national player Airah Mae Nicole Albo also in the women’s open singles’ championship of the annual tournament organized by Prima Pasta chairman Alex Lim.
Barredo also guns for her third straight women’s open singles’ crown in the tournament backed by Babolat, SMART Communications, Boysen Paints, Morning Star Milling Corporation., Mabz Builders, ILO Construction, Monocrete Construction, Pioneer Insurance, Promax International, Regent Foods Corp., RFM Corp and Del Monte Phils.
Men’s doubles open reigning champion Peter Gabriel Magnaye and Alvin Morada and women’s open doubles’ titleholder Alyssa Ysabel Leonardo and Thea Marie Pomar will also shoot for their third straight doubles’ open crowns also this week.
Magnaye and Pomar are also aiming to defend the mixed doubles’ open title this week.
