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Best of luck to our Canadian Badminton Team in Rio 2016!

Michelle Li and Martin Giuffre will represent Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics

For immediate release

Ottawa, ON - August 4, 2016 – Last night, our two star athletes took off for Brazil to represent Team Canada in badminton at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games being held from August 5 to 21.

The two athletes selected are Michelle Li and Martin Giuffre. The team will be coached by Ram Nayyar, Badminton Canada’s High Performance Director.

Both athletes earned their nominations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with impressive world ranking points in numerous international competitions throughout the season.

Michelle, who currently holds the 20th position in the world ranking in women’s singles, is our highest ranked contender and the most successful Canadian female badminton player to date. She will participate in her second consecutive Olympic Games after placing fourth at London 2012 in women’s doubles with former partner and National Team Member Alex Bruce. She is the reigning Canadian champion, Pan American Games champion and Commonwealth Games champion. Also, most recently, she has defeated the two-time reigning world Champion Carolina Marin. In other words, nothing is impossible for this young talent from Markham, Ontario.

Martin Giuffre, currently ranked 76th in the world, has earned his place on the world’s highest badminton stage. In the last few years, he won numerous titles at national and international events such as the Pan Am Junior Championships. On top of being a professional badminton player, he is also following his career goals of studying medicine and becoming a doctor in the near future. Having qualified for Rio 2016 with impressive wins at the Trinidad and Tobago International and Jamaica International, he is determined to reach for a medal in Brazil.

The sport of badminton was inaugurated as an official sport at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Badminton will be the fastest sport where the shuttle can reach an impressive speed of over 400 km/hour! What can still be found as a surprise to many, badminton is the second most played sport in the world following soccer.

The badminton competition will take place at the Riocentro Pavillon 4, August 11-20, with five events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Please find both Michelle and Martin’s Rio 2016 competition schedule below:
Michelle: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=3400A457-E0A4-4C87-89CA-C9A6CF1B2C0D&draw=30
Martin: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draw.aspx?id=3400A457-E0A4-4C87-89CA-C9A6CF1B2C0D&draw=13

At Rio 2016, Canada is proud to be represented by the four officials:
Dennis Lam (Toronto, ON) – Linejudge.
Jean-Guy Poitras (Edmonston, NB) – Head of Umpires.
Eric Desrocher (Edmonston, NB) – Umpire.
Gerald Arsenault (St. John, NB) – Umpire.

“These Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be an outstanding platform for both our young athletes from Canada. While we witnessed dominant performances by both of them throughout this year, the depth of the competition at the Olympic Games will be a benchmark for both Michelle and Martin who will compete at the highest level of international badminton competition.” Anil Kaul, Badminton Canada President

 

For more information:
Please contact Badminton Canada at info@badminton.ca

About Badminton Canada 
Badminton Canada is the national governing body of the sport of badminton in Canada. Our mission is to be an innovative and highly respected sports organization that is the leader in contributing to badminton becoming the most successful racquet sport in Canada and the world by enabling Canadian Athletes, Coaches and Officials of all ages, cultural background and skill level the opportunity to excel in badminton and in life. For further information, visit: www.badminton.ca

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