MALVINNE ANNE Alcala showed her deadly form overseas as she took out two high-ranked South Koreans to move into the championship round of the German Juniors International badminton tournament in Berlin, Germany.
Alcala, the reigning back-to-back Singapore Junior champion, upended Joo I Jeon, 21-19, 21-16, in the quarterfinals then subdued giant-killer So Yeon Han in a down-to-the-wire decider, 18-21, 21-112, 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 Ngan Yi Cheung of Hong Kong.
The 17-year-old Alcala goes for the crown against another Korean Jang Mi Lee.
On her way to the finals, the Filipina shuttler swept past German Luise Helm, 21-13, 21-15, routed joint fifth-seed Emily Westwood, 21-9, 21-10, before thumping Rituparna Das of India, 21-12, 21-18, in the Last 16 stage.
Alcala is the lone Filipina in the event, one of the legs of the prestigious European Junior circuit./Correspondent Jonas Panerio