Events

For the first time in history, the 2020 YONEX Canadian Badminton & Para-badminton National Championships were held during the same week and within the same venue! From January 29th - February 1st, 2020, 100 of Canada's best able-bodied and para-badminton athletes competed at the newly opened Prairie Badminton in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in hopes to be crowned 2020 National Champions!

The combined championships hosted over 12 events, 7 Para events and 5 able-bodied, and spanned over 4 days of great competition.

Feedback from all players, coaches, and host committee members was extremely postive. From witnessing the amazing talents displayed by all athletes, to experiencing the atmosphere in close matches accross all categories - all were thrilled with the inlcusion of the best players in Canada, regardless of ability. 

"Hosting the first ever combined Senior & Para Championships was a huge success" said Executive Director, Joe Morissette. "Taking steps to make our sport safe, and more inclusive is our priority. Thank you to Manitoba Badminton, Prairie Badminton, and Yonex Canada for their support in this event!"

For photos of the event, please visit Orlando Athayde's Flicker account, here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmL5U3L4 

MS
The Men’s Singles discipline offered a great depth of talent with 44 of Canada’s best competing. The first semi-final matchup featured Brian Yang against Br Sankeerth. Brian jumped out to a commanding start winning the first game handily (21-16). The second game was hotly contested as it went all the way to the wire and Br Sankeerth managed a narrow victory (22-20). In the decisive third game Br used his momentum to complete the comeback and defeat defending National Champion, Brian Yang (16-21, 22-20, 21-19). 

The other semi-final match was a contest between Imran Wadia and Jason Ho-Shue. Jason started strong taking the first game in commanding fashion (21-7). In the second match he continued his strong form and proved too much for Imran to handle winning the second match (21-14).

This set the scene for the Finals. Jason Ho-Shue squaring off against Br Sankeerth. The first game was a quick contest with Jason taking no time going up one game (21-8). However, Br turned things around in the second game, taking a convincing win for himself to level the match (21-13). In the final game, Jason was victorious (21-16) to claim his 4^th National Championship in the last 5 years.

WS
Women’s Singles also featured an impressive depth of talent. The first semi-final match was between #1 seed Wendy Wen Yu Zhang and Brittney Tam. Wendy ended up on top of a close first game (21-19). In the second game Brittney rallied to force a decisive third game (21-17). Brittney wasn’t done there as she booked her place in the finals with a strong victory (19-21, 21-17 21-12).

Katie Ho-Shue and Rachel Chan featured in the Semi-Final on the bottom half of the draw. Rachel had defeated #2 seed Talia Ng to advance to this point and that momentum really showed. Rachel took both successive games (21-19, 21-18) to advance and have a chance to compete for the Women's Signles title.

Brittney Tam is no stranger to the finals having won the National Championship in 2017, and making the Final in 2018 and 2019. However, Rachel Chan came into the finals on a roll, having only lost 1 game all tournament leading up to the finals. Rachel kept this impressive run of form going to win her first National Championship in 2 games (21-13, 23-21) - making her the youngest National Champion in history!

SL3 – Singles
After advancing from group play the finals were contested between Duc Goi and William Roussey. The finals were an incredibly close and competitive match as the crowd got excited for this incredibly close match. Duc Goi claimed the first game (21-15) but William Roussey came right back taking a narrow second game (23-21). In the third and final game Duc just managed to hang on to win the National Championships (21-15, 21-23, 22-20).

SL4 – Singles
The two athletes to advance from the group stage were Mixed Doubles partners, and Parapan Am Games Champions; Pascal Lapointe and hometown favorite, Olivia Meier. Pascal's experience in Singles proved to be too much to handle for Olivia as he won the finals in two games (21-4, 21-13).

SS6 – Singles
With a depth in the SS6 class, and with defending champion Wyatt Lightfoot out due to medical, the SS6 title was up for grabs this year! Justin Lawrence Kendrick and Zachary Lelièvre played the first semi-final. Justin Lawrence Kendrick played well all weekend, going undefeated in group play. Zachary Lelièvre stood his ground but Justin continued to beat everyone he faced finishing the semi-final in 2 games (21-13, 21-18). Émilien Langlier and Anthony Hay faced off for the other spot in the finals. Anthony Hay was victorious in a lengthy three game match when they previously met in group play. This semi-final saw more of the same as Anthony once again defeated Émilien (21-14, 21-15).

In the finals Justin Lawrence Kendrick continued his dominance to claim the National Championship by defeating Anthony Hay in two games (21-14, 21-15), to be the 2020 SS6 Champion.

WH – Singles
Four wheelchair athletes advanced from the round robin to meet in the semi-finals. Bernard Lapointe versus Misha Bilenky, and Yuka Chokyu versus Richard Peter. Both Bernard (21-8, 21-8) and Peter (21-11, 21-7) had strong showings to advance to the Finals, that resulted in Bernard displaying a dominant performance, winning the finals in 2 straight games (21-7, 21-7).

MD
This discipline featured all four seeded entries in the semi-finals. First seeded Philippe Charron and Max Tétreault against 3/4 seed Jonathan Lai and Ty Lindeman on one side of the draw, and second seed and defending Champions, Jason Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura against 3/4 Br Sankeerth and Duncan Yao.

The first semi-final was a close affair with Jonathan Lai and Ty Lindeman toppling the #1 seed in 3 games (21-19, 22-20, 21-17). The other semi-final was similarly competitive with three time defending national champions Jason Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura advancing in 2 games (21-15, 24-22). In the finals Jason and Nyl showed why they’ve been so successful and were crowned national champions for the fourth year running beating Jonathan and Ty in 2 games (21-17, 21-11).

WD
Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tsai have won the last two Women’s Doubles National Championships. This year they looked to threepeat as they advanced to the semi-finals to face a young pair of Jacqueline Cheung and Kyleigh O’Donoghue. The defending champions punched their ticket to another final in 2 games (21-12, 21-10).

The two teams looking to test themselves in the finals were Crystal Lai and Wendy Wen Yu Zhang and Catherine Choi and Josephine Wu. Eventually 2^nd seed Catherine and Josephine saw the match through (21-12, 21-10). The finals brought no surprises as Rachel and Kristen won their third straight national title in two games (21-14, 21-8).

SL3/SL4 – Doubles
The two teams to advance out of the group to contest the finals were Pascal Lapointe and Olivia Meier, a talened Mixed Doubles pair who squared off against Duc Goi and Yuns Oh. Pascal and Olivia overcame Duc and Yuns in two games (21-11, 21-11) to become national champions in Olivia’s hometown of Winnipeg, MB!

SS6 – Doubles
The finals of this event were an all Québec affair as Anthony Hay and Zachary Lelièvre matched up with Émilien Langlier and Tristan Lelièvre. These four left it all on the court but at the end Émilien and Tristan were victorious winning in 2 straight games (22-20, 21-15).

WH – Doubles
Bernard Lapointe and Richard Peter found themselves in familiar territory after already facing each other in the WH singles finals. While Misha Bilenky and Yuka Chokyu looked to take home some hardware themselves. Bernard and Peter managed to carry on their winning ways, taking home the gold with a 2 game victory (21-16, 21-14).

XD
The road to the semi-finals was not an easy one as every single team had to triumph in a lengthy 3 game match to advance from the quarter-finals. One half saw Duncan Yao and Crystal Lai take on Jonathan Lai and Talia Ng. Jonathan and Talia showed great teamwork and resolve to see off Duncan and Crystal in 2 games (21-13, 21-17). Elsewhere, 2^nd seed and defending champions Joshua Hurlburt-Wu and Josephine Wu came up against Antonio Benjamin Li and Katie Ho-Shue. The defending champions prevailed as they moved on looking to claim back to back national champions (21-15, 21-8). In the finals they did just that. The match was by no means an easy one but Joshua and Josephine were successful at defending their title (21-15, 18-21, 21-12).

Join us congratulating all the winners from the 2020 YONEX Canadian National Badminton Championships

Full Results & Draws: https://www.badminton.ca/sport/tournament?id=A76DCBB3-1DDC-48DB-83AA-B0BB743E83CB 

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
MS	Jason Ho-Shue	Br Sankeerth	Brian Yang
WS	Rachel Chan	Brittney Tam	Wendy Wen Yu Zhang
SL3 – Singles	Duc Goi	William Roussy
SL4 – Singles	Pacal Lapointe	Olivia Meier
SS6 – Singles	Justin Lawrence Kendrick	Anthony Hay	Émilien Langlier
WH - Singles	Bernard Lapointe	Richard Peter	Misha Bilenky
MD	Jason Ho-Shue Nyl Yakura	Jonathan Lai Ty Lindeman	Philippe Charron Maxime Tétreault
WD	Rachel Honderich Kristen Tsai	Catherine Choi Josephine Wu	Crystal Lai Wendy Wen Yu Zhang
SL3/SL4 - Doubles	Pascal Lapointe Olivia Meier	Duc Goi Yuns Oh
SS6 - Doubles	Émilien Langlier Tristan Lelièvre	Anthony Hay Zachary Lelièvre
WH - Doubles	Bernard Lapointe Richard Peters	Misha Bilenky Yuka Chokyu
XD	Joshua Hurlburt-Yu Josephine Wu	Jonathan Lai Talia Hailey Ng	Duncan Yao Crystal Lai