She keeps hauling trophies one competition after another.
There’s no stopping Mika De Guzman’s rise in badminton.
Almost a month since helping the Ateneo Blue Eagles capture a fourth championship in the UAAP, De Guzman lorded over the APACS Kazakhstan International Series 2023 on Sunday.
The UAAP co-MVP bested India’s Arundhati Nagaraja Muddu, 21-13, 21-17 in the finale at the Almatau Resort in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Before setting up the said match, the 22-year-old shuttler breezed through Maldivian foe Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaqq, 21-6, 21-6, in the semis.
She had more trouble putting away Smit Toshiniwal in their quarterfinals match, which lasted for a little over an hour, 22-24, 27-25, 21-17.
That close shave in the quarterfinals versus Toshiniwal showed De Guzman had nerves of steel, along with a tenacity that champions are made off as she rose from a one-set deficit in getting the crucial victory.
Watch the finals match below:
Last February, De Guzman also topped the 2023 Philippine Badminton Open women’s singles event where she received a cash prize of P70,000.
The competition made a comaback thanks in large part to Manny V. Pangilinan, who happens to be the godfather of Philippine badminton.
At the rate things are going, it appears De Guzman is bound to reach even greater heights. And it should only bode well for the badminton scene in the country.
(MDB)