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2014 Mandarin Pan American Badminton Championships come to Markham!

September 16th, 2014

It’s an exciting time, as we are only one month away from the start of the 2014 Mandarin Pan American Badminton Championships that will be held at the brand new Atos Markham Pan Am Centre. The best badminton players in the Pan Am region will be in Markham from the 13th-19th of October, including recent Commonwealth Games Gold medalist and local superstar, Michelle Li.

Tickets available at http://panambadminton2014.ca/

The event consists of a Team Competition, where countries compete against each other in a best of 5 match system, and the Individual Competition, where it’s every player and pair for themselves. Canada has a long and successful history at this event, winning the Team Competition for the last 8 years running. Let’s hope the streak continues on home soil. The Team finals will be held on Wednesday, October 15th, starting at 5:30 pm.

In the Individual Competition, Canada will look to match or improve upon the 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medal from 2013. Along with Michelle Li looking to repeat her Gold medal performance from last year, other local talents Rachel Honderich and Brittney Tam will be gunning for medals in the Women’s Singles. Last year’s Men’s Doubles champions, Derrick Ng and Adrian Liu, will also be looking to repeat, but will be challenged by another local team, 2013 Silver medalists Kevin Li and Nyl Yakura. Toby Ng and Alex Bruce will be looking to retain top spot on the Mixed Doubles podium and Alex and partner Phyllis Chan will try to move back to the Gold medal after winning in 2012 and losing in the finals last year.

It won’t be easy for Canada to repeat the 2013 medal haul. Top Men’s Singles players Kevin Cordon of Guatemala, Oselni Guerrero of Cuba and Sattawat Pongnairat of the USA will be hard to overcome. Brazil and the USA will be bringing a strong Women’s Singles contingent. Guatemala, the USA and Peru will be vying for Men’s Doubles. Eva Lee and Paula Obanana are the defending Women’s Doubles champions and Eva and partner Howard Shu were the Silver medalists in Mixed Doubles last year. It promises to be a competitive event. Finals for the individual events will be held on Sunday, October 19th, starting at 10:00 am.

The Pan Am Championships will be the very first event hosted in the Markham Pan Am Centre, which gives local residents a sneak peek at what will be an amazing community venue for years to come. The Mandarin Badminton Club is the title sponsor of the tournament and they will be hosting three Youth Camps during the week. If you have youngsters who love badminton or you just want to get a chance to play in the newest sport venue in Markham, you can register for the camps through the official tournament website. Don’t delay, as space is very limited!

Don’t miss the opportunity to see international badminton, where shuttles can fly at over 240 km/hr! Come cheer on Canada and a large contingent of local athletes who have reached the highest levels of their sport. You won’t be disappointed in the action and will get a first look at a wonderful new facility.

See you in Markham!