Romwel Anzures

Article (news)

Rom Anzures

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — As tennis and other racket sports continue to gain popularity in the country, the Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) is hoping to spark a resurgence of badminton.With the country set to host the first-ever Philippine Junior International Series 2026 from August 4 to 9, the federation hopes the tournament will help reignite Filipinos&#x27; passion for the sport.&quot;The goal is to bring back yung boom ng badminton,&quot; said PBAD program director and former doubles player Kennie Asuncion. &quot;We see a lot of potential, so sana makuha natin yung support to see what they can bring to the country.&quot;Interest in tennis and other racket sports has surged in recent years, with Filipina sensation Alex Eala playing a major role in driving that growth.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/2/tennis-mubadala-dc-open-alex-eala-naomi-osaka-result-0512">READ: Alex Eala through to DC Open finals after beating Naomi Osaka</a></div>PBAD secretary-general Shawntel Nicole Nieto pointed out how tennis sparked a resurgence because of a prominent homegrown figure like Eala, something the federation also hopes to develop in badminton.&quot;We love our heroes,&quot; said Nieto. &quot;The heroes that fight for us, that&#x27;s what we try to bring forward in PBAD. We have those heroes, and we want the world, the public to know them.&quot;For Nieto, that vision goes hand in hand with the federation&#x27;s long-term goal of elevating Philippine badminton on the global stage.&quot;Our goal is very much aligned. The boom now is in recreational sports, so the challenge now is how to make that competitive,&quot; she said. &quot;That&#x27;s our goal. We want to make the next Filipino badminton Olympian.&quot;Asuncion echoed the same vision.&quot;We&#x27;re eyeing the 2028 Olympics with our senior athletes, and hopefully, our junior athletes could also qualify,&quot; said Asuncion, while also sharing what it would take to achieve that goal.&quot;Developing a team, a player takes time, so we ask for your patience. But at the same time, maraming nage-engage sa sports. It builds character, it builds yung totality ng pagkatao nila on court and off court.&quot;Beyond producing elite athletes, PBAD also hopes to make badminton more accessible to Filipinos.&quot;We want to bring the Filipino public back to badminton,&quot; said Asuncion. &quot;We want to give them opportunities to compete, win, and for Filipinos to fall back in love with badminton. Making the sport more accessible is one way of doing that.&quot;

As tennis and other racket sports continue to gain popularity in the country, the Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) is hoping to spark a resurgence of badminton.

As tennis and other racket sports continue to gain popularity in the country, the Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) is hoping to spark a resurgence of badminton.

PBAD eyes badminton resurgence amid boom in PH racket sports

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PBAD eyes badminton resurgence amid boom in PH racket sports

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 03, 2026 06:01 PM PHT

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Badminton

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Philippine Badminton Association

PBAD

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