Badminton Canada Announces Sudirman Cup Team

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Badminton Canada Announces Sudirman Cup Team

The 2015 BWF Sudirman Cup for World Team Championships will be held in Dongguan, a city in China’s Guandong Province, from May 10 to 17, 2015.

April 17, 2015

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Badminton Canada Announces Sudirman Cup Team

 

The 2015 BWF Sudirman Cup for World Team Championships will be held in Dongguan, a city in China’s Guandong Province, from May 10 to 17, 2015.  Thirty-five countries are set to compete for one of the most prestigious titles in badminton.

 

While Canada was originally with Spain, Russia, and Hong Kong in Group 2A, a redraw of Group 2 was carried out on March 19 due to a discrepancy in Team USA’s ranking. Canada is still in Group 2A, but will now compete against Spain, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

 

Badminton Canada has assembled a team of eight talented young athletes to obtain a podium finish at the Sudirman Cup. Many of these players are veterans of the international circuit, but there are a few fresh faces whose talent and skill make valuable additions to Canada’s team.

 

One of these new additions is Andrew D’Souza (Ottawa, ON), who will be competing in Men’s Singles. D’Souza is the current National Men’s Singles Champion, and was a member of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team.

 

Both Michelle Li (Markham, ON) and Rachel Honderich (Toronto, ON) will compete in Women’s Singles at the event. Li is currently ranked 15th in the world for Women’s Singles, has been the National Women’s Singles Champion five years in a row, placed 4th at the 2012 London Olympics, and more recently, won a gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. At only 18, Honderich has an impressive resume as well; she is the current U23 Women’s Singles Champion, was a Women’s Singles finalist at the Canada Open, and recently won a gold medal in Women’s Singles at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

 

Derrick Ng (Richmond, BC) and Adrian Liu (Prince Rupert, BC) will compete together in Men’s Doubles. The plucky duo, who have a long competitive history together, are current National Men’s Doubles Champions for the fifth year running, were members of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team, and took gold in the 2014 Pan Am Badminton Championships for the third consecutive time.

 

In Women’s Doubles, veterans Alex Bruce (Toronto, ON) and Phyllis Chan (Vancouver, BC) aim to win gold for Canada. Bruce and Chan are the current National Women’s Doubles Champions, and were both members of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team. Bruce also had a 4th place finish with then-parter Michelle Li at the 2012 London Olympics.

 

Bruce is the only member of Canada’s Sudirman Cup team to compete in two events. She will join Toby Ng (Richmond, BC) on the courts for Mixed Doubles. Ng, who is teammate Derrick’s older brother, is the current and four-time National Mixed Doubles Champion. He was a member of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team, and he and Bruce won a gold medal in Mixed Doubles at the 2014 Pan Am Badminton Championships.

 

For Bruce, competing at the Sudirman Cup will be both a privilege and a responsibility. "I'm very much looking forward to representing Canada at the Sudirman Cup,” she said. “I am excited to support my teammates, and I hope we can prove how strong Canada is. We are in a strong group of countries, so our athletes will be challenged in every match." 

 

Ram Nayyar, Head Coach for the Canadian National Badminton Team, will lead Canada’s Sudirman Cup Team in the quest for gold in Dongguan. Medaling at the Sudirman Cup will carry even greater significance for this year’s athletes, given the 2015 Pan Am Games and 2016 Tokyo Olympics looming on the horizon.

 

"I'm looking forward to leading this team of experienced veterans and strong young up-and-comers within our National Team Program,” said Coach Nayyar. “This competition is always a tough one, with nations fielding their strongest teams. It will prove a great testing ground for our team as they prepare for a very important Olympic Qualifying year.”

 

“The Sudirman Cup is a key event in the preparation for our athletes for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto,” added Peter Golding, President of Badminton Canada. “A strong performance in China will reaffirm our place as the dominant nation in the Pan Am Zone and a force to be reckoned with at the Pan Am Games.”

 

 

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