Events
A Gold Rush for Canada at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games
November 2, 2023
Canadian Badminton athletes showed the Pan Am region that they are a forced to be reckoned with in the sport of badminton.
The Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games were filled with thrilling moments and intense competition. Team Canada made their country proud at the Pan Am Games 2023 in Santiago, Chile from October 21-25, 20253, bringing home 4 gold medals and 1 bronze medal. Securing 5 medals out of 5 events at the Pan Am Games 2023 was an outstanding demonstration of talent from Team Canada.
“The finals were truly a Golden Day. The bar was set so high for our team heading into these games, getting four gold at the previous games in Lima as well as getting 5 gold at the PanAm Individual Championships earlier this year in Kingston, Jamaica.” said National Team Head Coach Mike Butler. “The expectations and hopes were high. A lot was on the line at this event, not just a Games medal but high Olympic qualification points. Our team fought through everything that came their way, being down in matches, having game/match points that didn’t happen and feeling the effects of previous matches played but they persevered. Brian in his Singles was a man on a mission. He still had memories of finishing second in Lima. No one at this event was going to get in his way this time around. I am very proud of our entire Canadian Team.”
In Women's Singles, Canada had 3 athletes competing for a spot at the top. In the round of 16, top seeded player Wendy Zhang put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell to Cuban Taymara Oropesa Pupo (8-21, 21-16, 21-19). Eliana Zhang made it to the Women's Singles Quarterfinals but lost to USA's Jennie Gai in a closely contested match (21-12, 21-18). Rachel Chan, seeded 3/4, made it to the semi-finals where she lost to eventual gold medalist Beiwen Zhang of USA (21-16, 21-11) earning herself a bronze medal.
Kevin Lee and Ty Lindeman had a tough time in the Men's Doubles Quarterfinals, losing in the first match of the tournament to the Independent Athletes Team (15-21, 21-10, 21-18).
In the Men's Double Semi-finals, Canadians Adam Dong and Nyl Yakura emerged victorious in a thrilling match against Mexico, where Mexico defended seven match points before falling just short of the win (21-10, 21-23, 25-23). Nyl and Adam went on to win gold in the Men's Doubles in an emotional and extremely close match against Brazil's Silva and Fabricio (19-21, 21-15, 21-18) making the pair Men’s Doubles Pan Am Champions.
The Women's Doubles final was an exciting match that saw Catherine Choi and Josephine Wu win gold after a closely contested match against the USA's Xu twins (21-18, 10-21, 21-17).
Brian Yang put on a commanding performance to win gold in the Men's Singles, defeating Kevin Cordon Buezo (IAT) (21-18, 21-6), showing his opponents he did not come to the Games with anything but the gold medal in sights.
Finally, Josephine Wu and Ty Lindeman secured the 4th gold medal of the Pan Am Games for Canada in a narrow win over the USA (17-21, 21-17, 21-19). Josephine defended her title as Mixed Doubles Pan Am champion from Lima 2019 and won her second gold medal of Santiago 2023.
Fans and athletes alike were treated to some truly unforgettable performances and heart-stopping matches. Overall, the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games were a spectacular showcase of talent and athleticism, and a testament to the dedication and hard work of all the athletes involved.