Padel Pilipinas makes historic Asian Games debut as Abad, Malazarte break into Asia’s Top 4

MANILA, Philippines — From the bottom seed to the final four, Filipino national athletes Danna Abad and Joshea Malazarte delivered a breakthrough performance for padel at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.   The youngest pair in Team Padel Pilipinas entered the women’s draw as the No. 23 seed — the lowest-seeded pair in the 23-team field — but battled through three rounds of competition to earn a semifinal berth in padel’s historic Asian Games debut.   Held at the Higashi Sports Center from September 28 to October 3, the padel competition brought together 13 nations — the Philippines, Lebanon, Qatar, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Japan, with Saudi Arabia competing exclusively in the women’s division.   “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. This is an important foundation for where we want to take the sport next,” said Padel Pilipinas President Jeff Cheng.   In the first match of Team Philippines, Abad and Malazarte opened with a dominant 6-1, 6-0...