MANILA, Philippines -- After three long years, the Philippine Badminton National Open is finally back in action.

The tournament begins today at the Dragonsmash Badminton Center in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City, and will run up to Sunday, February 26.

This year's tournament launch includes the national ranking system, and it is part of the Philippine national team's build-up to the 32nd SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

"On behalf of the MVP Sports Foundation, chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, and our president Al S. Panlilio, badminton is one of the sports that we identified where the Filipino can be a world-class athlete. Getting into that level takes a lot of training, repetition, and mindset. It will take the full force of the badminton community to get it done. It used to be one of the country's most popular sports, and the community has shown that it can rise once again. This tournament will jumpstart what we want to do for the calendar year," said Philippine Badminton Association vice president Jude Turcuato.

With P1,000,000 at stake, the five Super 500 events include men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The winners of the singles events will receive P70,000, while the champions of the doubles events will receive P150,000.

This tournament will serve as a platform for the country's young up-and-coming badminton players to showcase their skills.

Jewel Angelo Albo and Mika De Guzman are among the players taking the lead, but it is also expected that experienced players such as Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo, who recently won three men's doubles international titles, will shine.

In the last edition, Ros Pedrosa won the men's singles title after overcoming Lanz Zafra, while Bianca Carlos battled cramps to take the women's singles title against Sarah Barredo. In the mixed doubles event, Thea Pomar and Ariel Magnaye took home two titles after defeating their respective partners Alyssa Leonardo and Alvin Morada.

The Philippine Badminton National Open is just one of the many domestic tournaments planned by the Philippine Badminton Association for 2023.

The tournament is backed by Yamaha, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), SMART Telecommunications, MWell, Maynilad, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), and Ducksports and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.