Events

The 2019 Yonex U23 & Junior Canadian National Championships were held at the Canada Games Sport for Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba from May 20^th – May 25^th. This years National Championships showcased some of Canada’s top badminton players in four age groups; U15, U17, U19, U23. With the best players throughout the country uniting to compete to be National Champions, the stage was set for an exciting week of badminton.

U15 Division

The U15 Boys Singles final began championship day with a pace that would be hard to follow. Top two seeds Joshua Nguyen (1) and Timothy Lock (2) went head to head, eventually needing three games to determine the winner. Timothy defeated Joshua in a close first game (23-25), but Joshua kept his composure and came back win the next two games (21-10, 21-18) to secure the Boys Singles title. The U15 Girls Singles final witnessed an impressive Jackie Dent (1) only needing two games to secure the victory over Chloe Hoang (21-15, 21-14) capturing the gold medal.

In Boys Doubles action Daniel Leung and Harold Tan pulled off the upset to defeat Alex Longsheng and Timothy Lock (22-20, 21-19). This was a quick turnaround for Lock who had competed earlier in the Boys Singles Final.

Next on the court was Ally Chia and Natalie Nakatsui as they looked to take on Chloe Hoang and Joanna Xu in the U15 Girls Doubles final. Similar to Lock, Hoang had also competed earlier in the Girls Singles final and was looking to bounce back with a win. However, Chia and Nakatsui looked like the fresher of the two teams and defeated Hoang and Xu who didn’t go down without a fight (21-14, 22-20).

Concluding the U15 field was the Mixed Doubles final that featured the top ranked pair of Julian Lau and Natalie Nakatsui as they were set to take on the number two ranked Joshua Nguyen and Chloe Hoang. Lau was able to utilize his fresh legs as he and Nakatsui would go on to defeat Nguyen and Hoang in two straight games (21-13, 21-18). This Mixed Doubles final would also mark the difference in winning the Club Champions Banner; with Lau and Natkatsui taking the match, and B-Active taking the U15 Club Championship win.

U17 Divison

There was lots of excitement surrounding the U17 Boys and Girls Singles finals, as both matchups featured the respected number one and two seeds. In the Boys Singles final, Victor Lai (2) was able to pull of the upset on Ivan Li (1) in two straight games (21-14, 21-16). This would not be the last time these two would face off on the day, as they were set to go up against each other again in both Boys and Mixed Doubles.

In the U17 Girls final, Jeslyn Chow (1) proved she was the number one seed for a reason, defeating Natalie Yee (2) to win the gold medal. Chow won the first game by an astonishing 20 points, but Yee would come back to make Chow work in the second game, sending it to extra points (21-1, 25-23).

The U17 Boys Doubles Final, showcased a highly anticipated rematch between Ivan Li and Victor Lai. Jadon Tsang was able to help his partner Ivan Li redeem his earlier loss by defeating Victor Lai and Win (Rong) Liao in a thrilling 3 matches (19-21, 21-18, 21-12). Li and Tsang were able to pull away in the third game to secure the gold medal.

Next on the court was the U17 Girls Double final that featured Jeslyn Chow who was fresh off her Singles win, and looking for another. Chow who was partnered with Rachel Chan were able to take down the pair of Jackie Dent and Christina Lin (21-18, 21-8). Chow with the help of Chan was able to secure her impressive second gold medal of these championships.

Rounding out the U17 field was the Mixed Doubles final that featured the third matchup of the day between Ivan Li and Victor Lai. Ivan Li who was playing alongside Rachel Chan were both looking for their second gold medal of the day as they were set to take on Victor Lai and Jessica V Cheng. Li and Chan were able to capture their second gold medals as they defeated Lai and Cheng in convincing fashion (21-8, 21-12).

U19 Divison

The U19 Boys Singles final was another featured matchup between both of the top two seeds Kevin Wang (1) and Yunzhi Chen (2). This was a final that could have gone either way, and ultimately ended with the number one seeded Wang defeating Chen (21-16, 21-17) to take home the U19 Boys Singles gold.

Wendy Wen Yu Zhang (1) was looking to follow in Wang’s footsteps as she was set to take on a tough opponent in Rachel Chan, to determine the U19 Girls Singles champion. Zhang came out and took the first game 21-10, but a determined Chan fought back in the second game and took the 19-21 win. It all came down to the third game where Zhang showed experience and defeated Chan 21-16 to win the gold medal (21-10, 19-21, 21-16).

The U19 Boys Doubles final showcased what some might have though to be an unlikely winner. The unranked team of Jonathan shou-zheng Chien and Connor Chin were able to take down the second ranked team of Yunzhi Chen and Colin Jia (21-16, 13-21, 21-15). The upset that required 3 games to determine the winner, had the spectators on the edge of their seat for the entire match.

Building off of the excitement the number one ranked team of Crystal Lai and Wendy Wen Yu Zhang took the court to face off against the second seeded Sharon Au and Jacqueline Cheung. Lai and Zhang showcased their full arsenal of skills to defeat Au and Cheung (21-15, 21-10) proving why they were the number one ranked U19 Girls Double team.

The familiar faces of Yunzhi Chen and Crystal Lai squared off against each other in Mixed Doubles action to conclude the U19 division. Chen alongside his partner Elianna-R Zhang were looking for a victory but knew it would not be an easy task against Raphel Motel and Crystal Lai. Both teams split the first two games, but in the third and final game Chen and Zhang were able to make a late push to secure the Mixed Doubled gold medal (21-15, 11-21, 21-17).

U23 Division

The U23 division began in shocking fashion, as the U23 Men’s Singles final showcased two unranked competitors, on one side was Thien Bao Vo and across from him stood Miklos Kanyasi. The match was nothing less than a phenomenal performance for all those in attendance. The first two games of the match were split one each, with both athletes winning in convincing fashion. The third game went into extra points, were Bao Vo put on a late serge to take the final game and the gold medal (21-6, 15-21, 22-20).

To follow the trend of unlikely winners, the U23 Women’s Single competitors stepped onto the court to put on what was another entertaining match. Number one ranked Talia Hailey Ng was facing off against an unranked opponent in Kyleigh O’Donoghue to determine the Women’s single champion. Similar to the men this match also needed three games to determine the winner. O’Donoghue took the first game confidently (21-13) but Ng came back to edge out O’Donoghue in the second game (18-21) to even the match up at one game each. O’Donoghue made a statement in the third and final game by beating Ng in an exciting finish (21-19) to claim the gold medal.

In U23 doubles action, the Men’s Doubles featured the Singles champion Thein Bao Vo and partner Felix Tessier who were fresh off a victory over the number one seed in the semi-finals. Bao Vo and Tessier were taking on second ranked Kevin Lee and Desmond Wang to determine the Men’s Doubles champions. Bao Vo and Tessier were unable to pull off another upset as Lee and Wang put an end to their run be beating them in two straight games (21-8, 21-13) to be crowned the Men’s Double champions.

Women’s Singles champion Kaleigh O’Donoghue was also back on the court and she was alongside Elianna-R Zhang as they faced off against number one seeds Alexandra Mocanu and Alyson Ruan to determine the Women’s Doubles champions. O’Donoghue and Zhang dropped the first game, but were able to come back with two convincing wins (12-21, 21-14, 21-9) to be crowned the Women’s Doubles champions.

To round out the field, number one ranked Thien Quan Nicolas Nguyen and Alexandra Mocanu competed against Mathieu Morneau and Alyson Ruan for the Mixed Doubles title. Nguyen and Mocanu won a tight first game 21-19, and topped it off with a convincing 21-10 win in the second game to capture the Mixed Double gold medal.

At the conclusion of the tournament Badminton Canada distributed two fair play awards per age group and the recipients were:

U15 – Daniel Li (KC Badminton Club), Melissa Roque (B- Active)

U17 – Paxton Lin (Shuttlesport), Jessica Cheng (KC Badminton Club)

U19 – Chris Weibe (Interlake Badminton Club), Emalia Sinclair (Interlake Badminton Club)

U23 – Nicolas Nguyen (CB Excellence Yonex), Eyota Kwan (NAIT)

For the 2019 Yonex U23 & Junior National Championship, Badminton Canada presented 4 banners to the respective age groups. Points were accumulated by athletes on behalf of their club for each 1st, 2nd, Semi Finalist and Consolation Round Winner placing team at the U23/Junior National Championship. This year Club Champions are:

U15 – B-Active Badminton Club, Edmonton, AB

U17 – KC Badminton Club, Markham, ON

U19 – Lees Badminton Club, Markham, ON

U23 – The Glencoe Club, 

To view full draw results from the 2019 Yonex U23 & Junior Canadian National Championship please visit Badmintoncanada.tournamentsoftware