In U13 Boys’ Singles, top seed Jadon Tsang (ClearOne) faced off against the formidable Justin Law (VRC) in an exciting matchup. Tsang took an assertive lead over Law at the beginning of the first game, and rode that lead straight to a 21-16, 21-15 victory.
The gold medal match for U13 Girls’ Singles got off to a rocky start for Western Canadian Team Championship Team BC athlete Jacqueline Fei (Ace), who lost the first game to Tiffany Xie (St. John’s) 17-21. Fei found her stride, however, and went on to win the next two games 21-15 and 21-13 to take the title.
Justin Law got one over his Boys’ Singles rival in the U13 Boys’ Doubles final. Law and his partner Peter Chui (VRC) played a high-energy three game matchup against Tsang and his partner Jason Yuan (ClearOne). Both teams were determined, but Law and Chui came out in the end with a 21-12, 17-21, 21-10 victory.
The U13 Girls’ Doubles final featured a great display of skill and athleticism from the tournament’s youngest athletes. Noelle Yau and Emily Zhu (VLTBC) played some terrific badminton and nearly took the first game, but ultimately lost out to the capable play of Annika Ho and Carrie Xu (Ace), who won 21-19, 21-14.
Clearly the athletes to beat, Jadon Tsang and Jacqueline Fei teamed up against Jerry Wan (St. John’s) and Tiffany Xie in the finals. Both games were excruciatingly close – a testament to the skill and determination of both pairs of athletes – but Tsang and Fei took gold in the end with a 21-18, 21-19 victory. Tsang almost got the triple crown, and perhaps Fei would have too if she’d competed in Girls’ Doubles, but each of these athletes should be extraordinarily proud of their excellent performance at the Provincials.
Two WCTC Team BC alumni squared off in the gold medal match for U15 Boys’ Doubles. Top seed Wenjun Ouyang (Ace) faced 3/4 seed Nathaniel Franco (Ace), and both players put their advanced training to work on the courts. Franco played a tough game, but Ouyang got the gold in the end with a decisive 21-10, 21-15 victory.
The U15 Girls’ Singles match saw top seed and WCTC Team BC alum Annie Chow (ClearOne) take on number two seed – and fellow Team BC teammate – Stephenie Ho (Ace) in one of the more intense matches of the day. Both young athletes demonstrated tremendous skill and ability well beyond what’s typically seen in their age group, and should feel very happy with their performances. Ho took a 21-19 victory in the first round, and while Chow fought back in the second, Ho clinched the title with a 21-15 win and almost immediately burst into tears of joy.
Wenjun Ouyang returned to the courts with fellow Team BC teammate Victor Huang (ClearOne) to take on another pair of WCTC alums in the final match of the U15 Boys’ Doubles round robin. Nik Cruz and Mandinu De Silva (VLTBC) played a spirited game and showed excellent sportsmanship, but Ouyang and Huang took gold in the end with a 21-14, 21-18 victory.
Cousins Juliet Emlyn (HCC) and Valeena Van Heukelom (VRC) faced off against Stephenie Ho and Stella Seo (HCC) in the U15 Girls’ Doubles final. Both pairs of athletes had had a great showing with Team BC at the Western Canadian Team Championships in January, and put on an equally skilled game for crowds in the final match of the Provincials round robin. Emlyn and Van Heukelom, who were second in the standings going into the final match, had great communication and demonstrated real growth since the WCTCs in January. They took the match and the title in the end, with a 21-17, 21-18 victory over Ho and Seo.
It was an all-WCTC-Team-BC showdown for the U15 finals, it turns out. In Mixed Doubles, Team BC athletes and top seeds Nik Cruz and Annie Chow faced off against former Team BC teammates and number two seeds Nathaniel Franco and Stephenie Ho. Cruz and Chow took the gold with a decisive 21-16, 21-12 win, but both teams should be commended on the excellent badminton they played in Sunday’s finals.
Top U17 Boys’ Singles seed Kevin Luo (Ace) put on a great show with number two seed Aaron Zhao (ClearOne) in the finals. Their rollercoaster matchup went a full three games, but Luo took gold in the end with a 21-13, 11-21, 21-17 victory.
In U17 Girls’ Singles, top seed Wendy Zhang (ClearOne) faced off against 3/4 seed and WCTC Team BC alum Yoko Ujike (ClearOne) in the quest for gold. After giving Zhang a decisive 21-6 victory in the first game, Ujike fought back and put Zhang’s skills to the test with some fierce rallies. In the end, however, Zhang took the second game 21-15 and earned her first Provincial title of the day.
The U17 Boys’ Doubles matchup saw top seeds Adrian Fan (ClearOne) and WCTC Team BC athlete Daryl Yang (SSDCA) join forces against 3/4 seeds Maric Son (ClearOne) and Team BC teammate Steven Lu (RPRO). The two teams were quite evenly matched, and played a high-octane game that drew raucous applause from spectators who packed the stands to watch. After Fan and Yang took the first game 21-13, Lu and Son nabbed the second with a 21-18 win. Leaving it all out on the courts, the two teams threw themselves into every shot in the third game, which ended with Fan and Yang clinching a 21-16 win and a nice set of gold medals around their necks.
Wendy Zhang returned to the courts with WCTC Team BC alum Michelle Yeung (Ace) for the final U17 Girls’ Doubles match of the round robin against Team BC teammates Annie Chow and Jessica Yuen (St. John’s). Zhang and Yeung were ahead in points heading into the final match, and they came out in the end to take gold with a 21-16, 21-15 win over Chow and Yuen.
Michelle Yeung also played in the U17 Mixed Doubles final with her partner and fellow WCTC Team BC teammate Daryl Yang. The number one seeded duo faced tough opposition from Team BC alums and number two seeds Jonah Lee (ClearOne) and Yoko Ujike. Both teams played excellent badminton and fought hard to take the title as the crowd cheered every point. In the end, Yang and Yeung won gold with a 21-16, 21-13 victory over their fellow athletes.
Match of the day might have to go to the U19 Boys’ Singles final, which saw former Canada Winter Games Team BC teammates James Ho (Ace) and Joshua Liu (St. John’s) duke it out for the gold medal. Ho, the event’s number one seed, took the first game with a handy 21-17 lead over Liu. Number two seed Liu fought back, and won the second game 21-14. In the third game, both athletes’ battle cries echoed through the rafters, nearly drowning out cheers from the crowd that gathered to take in the spectacle. Ho and Liu played some tremendous badminton, and while a questionable call during a game point for Liu threatened to tip the scales in Ho’s favour, Liu came back to take the final two points and fell to his knees in joy with a 22-20 victory and Provincial title.
U19 Girls’ Singles pitted Canada Winter Games Team BC athlete and top seed Qingzi Ouyang (Ace) against the formidable, though unseeded, Jenna Wong (ClearOne). Ouyang left no doubt of her being one of BC’s top badminton athletes in any age group, dominating the court with grace, agility, and a powerful smash. Wong played a great game, but Ouyang was unrelenting in her attacks and took gold with a swift 21-11, 21-8 win over Wong.
Top U19 Boys’ Doubles team Simon Cheng (VRC) and Jack Lin (Ace) faced stiff competition with 3/4 seeds Jack Chen (RPRO) and Muen Guo. There was some great athleticism on display, and no shortage of noise from the crowd as the gold medal match stretched into a full three games. In the end, Cheng and Lin used their power and speed to secure the title of Provincial Champions with a hard-fought 18-21, 21-13, 21-18 victory.
In a unique turn of events, Team BC teammates Alexa Wu (VLTBC) and Samantha Zheng (Ace) won the gold in U19 Girls’ Doubles by default when sisters Priscilla and Sarah Chan (Shuttlesport) declined to compete in the finals.
Samantha Zheng did get to hit the courts in U19 Mixed Doubles, however. She and fellow Team BC teammate James Ho were top seeds going into the final, and top athletes going out. Number two seeds Antonio Li (ClearOne) and Jenna Wong gave a valiant effort, tying it up with a 21-12 win after Ho and Zheng took the first game 18-21. Whether it was Ho and Zheng’s conditioning that did it, or their experience training together for the Canada Winter Games, they took the gold with an astonishing 21-5 win in the third and final round.
The Open Men’s Singles final was a terrific spectacle for the crows. Number one seed and National Team athlete Toby Ng (ClearOne) faced number two seed Mingxi Jiang (Ace) in a powerhouse matchup. It looked like Jiang was going to give Ng a run for his money after the top seed scraped a narrow 21-18 win in the first game, but Ng responded with a decisive 21-7 win in the second round to nab a Provincial title.
In Open Women’s Singles, Qingzi Ouyang returned to face fellow Team BC teammate Kylie Cheng (Ace). Both athletes had equal advantage in knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, having trained alongside one another in the Team BC program and frequently competing together as doubles partners. Cheng played a great game, but Ouyang’s athleticism won out in the end and she took home another gold with a 21-15, 21-8 victory.
The Open Men’s Doubles final saw the plucky Team Canada duo Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng (ClearOne) take to the courts to defend their title. The unseeded Wei Luo and Simon Wu (Shuttlesport) rose to challenge them, playing some excellent badminton in front of a packed and noisy crowd. Liu and Ng emerged victorious, taking gold with a 21-11, 21-12 win over the would-be incumbents.
Team BC’s Kylie Cheng and Qingzi Ouyang reunited to play in the final match of the Open Women’s Doubles round robin against Kay Shi and Team Canada’s Phyllis Chan (Ace). All four athletes put on a tremendous show for the crowds, and really upped the bar in terms of what we can expect from BC’s athletes. The first game was a nail-biter that Chan and Shi eventually took 24-22. Emboldened by their near victory, Cheng and Ouyang fought hard to take the second, but Chan and Shi took the title with a 21-18 win in the end.
In the Open Mixed Doubles round robin, Team Canada’s Toby Ng and Phyllis Chan teamed up to play Mike Nguyen and Bowie Tam (VRC). Veterans Ng and Chan did not take it easy on their opponents, who deserve credit for playing such a close game with two of the nations best badminton athletes. In the end, Ng and Chan won 21-16, 21-19 to take the gold medal.
It was an action-packed weekend at Ace Badminton Centre for the 2015 Black Knight BC Junior and Senior Provincial Championships. BC’s athletes put on a terrific show for spectators, who left with a renewed appreciation of the hard work, skill, and determination possessed by these budding badminton stars. Alumni of the Team BC programs for the Western Canadian Team Championships and Canada Winter Games dominated the podium in almost every category, as a testament to the quality of support and training from those programs. There is a deep pool of talent in the province that will no doubt grace the podiums of future competitions in Canada and beyond. Badminton BC is proud of each and every participant at the Provincial Championships, and grateful to the Host Committee and volunteers for ensuring the successful delivery of another flagship championship.