Maganda ang hinaharap ng national Padel team base sa pinakita nina Danna Abad at Joshea Malazarte sa 20th Asian Games sa Nagoya, Japan kamakailan.
Ang pinakabatang pares sa pambansang koponan ay pumasok sa main draw na may pinakamababang ranking sa No. 23.
Ngunit nakapasok sila sa semifinals at nagtapos sa ikaapat na puwesto sa unang pagsabak ng padel sa quadrennial event.
Tinalo nina Abad at Malazarte sina Samaher Kurdi at Lina Alabdullatif ng Saudi Arabia, 6-1, 6-0; sina Chan Wing at Lau Hiu ng Hong Kong, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3; at sina Saba Najafi Dehaghi at Neda Mohammad Taghipour ng Iran, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, upang makapasok sa semifinals.
Nabigo ang mga Pinay laban kina Fadona Kusumawati at Fitriani Sabatini ng Indonesia, 0-6, 0-6, sa semifinals.
Hindi rin nila nakuha ang puwesto sa podium matapos matalo kina Novela Putri at Beatrice Gumulya ng Indonesia sa parehong iskor sa laban para sa bronze medal.
Tinalo nina Saki Tsukamoto at Saki Tokumoto ng Japan sina Kusumawati at Sabatini, 6-3, 6-4, para sa ginto.
“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,” pahayag ni Padel Pilipinas chief Jeff Cheng.
“This is an important foundation for where we want to take the sport next.”
Si Abad, 25, ay mula Davao City at dating miyembro ng National University tennis team.
Bachelor of Physical Education graduate, cum laude, ng University of the Philippines Diliman si Malazarte, 24. Dati siyang team captain ng UP tennis team.
Tinalo naman ng isa pang pares ng kababaihan ng Pilipinas na sina Marian Capadocia at Tao Yee Tan sina Albina Khabibulina at Mariya Sinitsyna ng Kazakhstan, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, ngunit natalo sila kina Hiu Laam Chan at Yik Yan Law ng Hong Kong, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, sa second round.
Sa men’s division, tinalo nina team captain Argil Cañizares at Jason Lapidus sina Christian Alvin Edison at Giorgio Soemarno ng Indonesia, 6-1, 6-4, at sina Kwan Lam Vincent Chau at Lok Pui Lawrence Lo ng Hong Kong, 6-2, 6-2, bago natalo kina Christian Didier Chin at Aidan Yunus ng Malaysia, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, sa quarterfinals.
Tinapos naman nina Abdulqoahar Allian at Raymark Gulfo ang kanilang kampanya sa ikalawang round matapos matalo kina Fares Al Janahi at Abdullah Alabdulla ng United Arab Emirates, 1-6, 0-6.
“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,” pahayag ni Padel Pilipinas secretary general Duane Santos.