Triple champions highlight 2014 Yonex U23 and Junior National Badminton Champion
May 2014
Triple champions highlight 2014 Yonex U23 and Junior National Badminton Championships
For Immediate Release
Release #14-04
OTTAWA (May 9, 2014) – A trio of triple gold-medallists highlighted the Yonex U23 and Junior National Badminton Championships in Richmond, B.C. Nyl Yakura of Toronto (U23 men), Kevin Lee of Calgary (U16 boys) and Brian Yang of Toronto (U14 boys) each swept their categories with championships in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
“This championship was an outstanding display of our great young athletes,” said Joe Morissette, Executive Director of Badminton Canada. “While we saw some dominant performances by several of our athletes, the depth of the competition was also outstanding and leaves us confident that many of the athletes here have the potential to reach the highest levels of international competition.”
At the U23 level, top-seeded Yakura, who plays with Mandarin Badminton in Toronto, did not drop a set in sweeping his way to the singles title. In men’s doubles, paired with Joshua Yu of Lee’s Badminton in Toronto, he defeated top seeds Andrew Lau and Andrew Wilkinson in the final. Yakura completed the sweep by partnering with Brittney Tam of Markham to form the top-seeded mixed doubles pair and won the title with a three-set win in the championship match.
On the women’s side, Rachel Honderich, of Lee’s Badminton in Toronto, won three medals, including two gold. In singles, top-seeded Honderich defeated second-seeded Bethany So in the championship. In doubles, Honderich paired with Michelle Li of Markham to sweeping three matches and win gold, while Honderich and Andrew Lau won bronze in mixed doubles.
In U19 play, Kyleigh O’Donoghue of Calgary and Jason Ho-Shue of Toronto were both triple-medallists. O’Donoghue, from the Glencoe club, won gold in singles, and paired with Duncan Yao of the Vancouver Racquets Club to win mixed doubles. In girls’ doubles, she won silver with her partner, Joanne Chen of Chen’s Badminton Club in Toronto, as she fell in the final to the top-seeded pair of Michelle Tong and Takeisha Wang.
Ho-Shue, a member of Canada’s junior national team, won gold in boys’ singles and joined with Jonathan Lai, also of Toronto, to win the boys’ doubles crown. He paired with Tong to pick up a bronze in mixed doubles.
At the U16 level, Kevin Lee of the Glencoe club in Calgary dominated with three gold medals. He dropped only one set on his way to the singles title, and partnered with Byron Holcek, also of the Glencoe club, to sweep to the boys’ doubles title. In mixed doubles, he and his partner, Jenna Wong of the host ClearOne Centre, lived up to their top seed by dropping only one set on their way to the gold medal.
On the U16 girls’ side, Qingzi Ouyang of Ace Badminton in Richmond won gold in girls’ singles and doubles, pairing with Kylie Cheng, also of Richmond, who was the singles silver medallist. Ouyang also won bronze in the U19 mixed doubles, where she partnered with Calvin Che.
In U14 play, Brian Yang of the E Badminton Club in Toronto, pulled off the triple without losing a set in any of the 13 matches he played overall. Yang, the top seed, swept to the singles crown and clinched the title with a win over Kyle To of Markham. He and To combined to win the boys’ doubles crown, while Yang and Katie Ho-Shue, of the E Badminton Club in Toronto, swept through the mixed doubles competition. On the girls’ side, Wendy Zhang won the singles crown, while Ruiqi He and Jailyn Joensen won doubles championship.
The 2014 Yonex U23 and Junior National Badminton Championships were hosted by Badminton B.C. at the ClearOne Badminton Centre in Richmond.