Solomon Padiz Jr. and Julius Villabrille annexed the men’s doubles title at the 2023 APACS Kazakhstan Future Series on Saturday at the Center of Badminton in Shymkent.
The up-and-coming Smash Pilipinas duo needed just 26 minutes to beat India’s Abhyuday Choudhary and Zhakuo Seyie, 21-3, 21-8.
This victory not only secured the championship but also awarded them the 1,700 BWF World Ranking points associated with the tournament.
The event is part of the BWF Future Series, which is the third grade of the third-level Continental Circuit. It provides World Ranking points for qualification into higher-level tournaments such as the World Championships and the Olympics.
Padiz and Villabrille, the top-seeded duo in the tournament, collected their second title for Smash Pilipinas this year.
Earlier in February, Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo had opened the year with a victory at the 31st Fajr International Challenge.
The two National University student-athletes concluded their conquest in a manner similar to how they began the tournament—by securing dominant wins against the local favorites Artur Niyazov and Yevgeniy Yevseyev, 21-7, 21-10, as well as against Uzbekistan’s Amrullo Bakhshullaev and Artyom Savatyugin, 21-8, 21-11.
Jewel Angelo Albo, Mark Velasco, and Lance Vargas also participated in the men’s singles event. The fourth-seeded Albo and Velasco reached the third round, while Vargas exited in the preceding round.
In the women’s singles draw, Mikaela De Guzman contributed to the Smash Pilipinas campaign, reaching the second round before concluding her participation.
Be updated with the current rankings of the country’s badminton players by going to https://pbad.org.ph/rankings.
