MALVINNE Alcala once again stamped her class as one of the best shuttlers in the country as she dominated a tough foreign field while her brother Markie also made a name for himself as they ruled their respective divisions in the Li Ning Singapore Youth International Series 2011 at the Singapore Badminton Hall in Singapore last Sunday.
Malvinne survived a grueling first set duel then hung tough to frustrate Indonesian Florensia Setyana Daniella, 22-20, 21-17, and retain the girls’ Under-17 singles crown in the annual event, which featured the region’s leading and upcoming junior players.
The victory capped Alcala’s dominating performance in the week-long tournament and another banner season that saw her win two Open singles titles in the PBaRS (Philippine Badminton Ranking System) circuit.
The 16-year-old spearhead of Victor Philippine team also scored a grand slam in the Ming Ramos Cup Victor Philippine Open where she won the singles, doubles (with Fatima Cruz) and mixed doubles (with Ronel Estanislao) titles at Club 650 and at PSC Badminton Hall two weeks ago.
Markie, on the other hand, overwhelmed Malaysian Sim Fong Hau in the opening set then held on to complete a 21-11, 21-17 romp for the gold in the boys’ U-13 category.
On his way to the finals, the young Alcala, toppled his rivals in straight-set fashions./Correspondent Jonas Panerio