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DAY 2 of 2015 Yonex U23 and Junior National Championships: BC Athletes Continue Advancing to the Podium

The 2015 Yonex U23 and Junior National Championships continued to bring the action in a full day of matches for each age category.

Wenjun Ouyang, BC’s U15 Boys’ Singles and Boys’ Doubles Champion and an alumnus of the Western Canadian Team Championships Team BC Program, gave a spectacular performance in his first day at the Nationals. The number two seed for U15 Boys’ Singles did not disappoint the crowds, scoring a 12-21, 21-4, 21-12 victory in a high-octane match against Ontario’s Stanley Feng. Ouyang is set to face 5/8 seed Connor Chin of Alberta in the quarter finals on Thursday.

In U15 Girls’ Singles, both Annie Chow and Stephenie Ho made bold moves on the court to secure their respective places in the quarter finals. Chow, BC’s silver medalist in U15 Girls’ Singles and a WCTC Team BC alum, is the event’s 3/4 seed. She made quick work of her match against Alberta’s Prabhleen Kaur, snagging a 21-8, 21-2 win in just twenty minutes. Ho, a fellow WCTC Team BC alum and BC’s Provincial Champion for U15 Girls’ Singles, also made quick work of her matches, defeating Alberta’s Jiaming Hou 21-7, 21-12 before moving on to score a 21-11, 21-9 victory over Manitoba’s Jeannette Ding.

Stephenie Ho returned to play U15 Mixed Doubles with her partner and WCTC Team BC teammate Victor Huang. The dynamic duo blazed through their matches with speed and accuracy, defeating Manitoba’s Euguene Kakewash and Lyndie Beardy 21-3, 21-3 before taking Kiren Milan Deraj (MB) and Pabhleen Kaur out in a 21-6, 21-2 victory. Together, Ho and Huang will face 3/4 seeds Connor Chin and Emily Chan of Alberta in Thursday’s quarter finals.  BC’s Wendy Zhang teamed up with Ontario’s Kyle To for the same event. As the number two seed for U15 Mixed Doubles, the pair performed just as well as expected, and will advance to the quarter finals after defeating Manitoba’s René Piché and Bodin Marie Boissonneault.

After a thrilling day of matches, top seed and Provincial U17 Boys’ Singles Champion Kevin Luo left no doubt of his intent to take the gold in the Nationals. Luo scored a decisive victory over Quebec’s Jacob Kamali before scoring a second win over Alberta’s Nicolas Pittman that ended 21-19, 21-19. After a day’s rest to strategize, Luo will play in the quarter finals against Manitoba’s Arnish Patel. Aaron Zhao, who took silver in last week’s Provincials, also managed to secure a place in Thursday’s quarter finals. After winning his first two matches in two games a piece, Zhao played a real nail-biter against 5/8 seed Tihan Hewagama from Ontario that eventually ended 16-21, 22-20, 22-20 in Zhao’s favour. Zhao will now face 3/4 seed Desmond Wang from Alberta.

In U17 Girls’ Singles, Wendy Zhang again emerged victorious from an afternoon of high-energy badminton matches. The 3/4 seed made swift work of her bout against Alberta’s Elizabeth Evans, taking the match 21-6, 21-9. Zhang then went on to clinch a quarter final berth with another decisive victory over Quebec’s Valerie Tessier that ended 21-14, 21-11. She will face Ontario’s Vania Wu, the event’s 5/8 seed, in Thursday’s quarter finals.

In addition to his early lead in Boy’s Singles, Kevin Luo is also taking charge in the U17 Boys’ Doubles category. Along with partner Bryan Poon of Ontario, Luo defeated Manitoba duo Jeevan Khanuja and Mark Shinnie 21-9, 21-9 to secure a spot in the quarter finals. As 3/4 seeds for the event, Luo and his partner stand a good chance of securing a podium finish in U17 Boys’ Doubles.

No less than seven BC athletes are advancing to the quarter finals in U17 Girls’ Doubles. Maddie Buss and Rachelle Yau scored a tidy 21-12, 21-18 win over Saskatchewan’s Cindy Chung and Lainee Zaparaniuk. In a small upset, Annie Chow and Jessica Yuen, WCTC Team BC teammates who took silver in last week’s Provincial Championships, overtook ¾ seeds Marina Nguyen and Valerie Tessier (QC) 21-11, 22-24, 21-12 to clinch a quarter final berth. Not to be outdone, 3/4 seeds Michelle Yeung and Wendy Zhang, Provincial Champions in U17 Girls’ Doubles, also solidified their place in the quarter finals with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Quebec’s Elizabeth Hardy and Seema Patel. Lastly, WCTC Team BC alum Yoko Ujike teamed up with Ontario’s Sarah Gale to defeat Angela Chen and Belle Tuen (ON) in a tense 16-21, 21-17, 21-10 matchup to advance to the quarter finals.

James Ho, BC’s bronze medalist in Men’s Singles at the Canada Winter Games and silver medalist in U19 Men’s Singles at the Provincial Championships, has his sights set on gold at the Nationals. The 3/4 seed for U19 Men’s Singles faced Ontario’s Samuel Li in his first match and won 21-6, 21-15. In his next match, Ho made equally quick work of Quebec’s Sébastien Choquette with a 21-9, 21-16 victory. Ho will move on to face Ontario’s Stephen Lau in the quarter finals, and top seed Jason-Ho Shue (ON) in the semis if he advances.

Team BC’s Kylie Cheng and Qingzi Ouyang will advance to the quarter finals in U19 Women’s Singles. Cheng, 3/4 seed for the event, played a great match against Quebec’s Camille Leblanc, which she took 21-15, 21-16. Ouyang, the number two seed in U19 Girls’ Singles, scored a decisive victory over Quebec’s Alyson Ruan to earn her place in the quarter finals. Both athletes were in top form on the courts, and can be expected to deliver a great performance in the next round of matches.

In U19 Boys’ Doubles, two BC athletes will advance to the quarter finals with their out-of-province partners. Antonio Li, who took silver in U19 Mixed Doubles at the Provincials last week, paired up with Alberta’s Imran Wadia. The 5/8 seeded duo scored a tidy 21-14, 21-14 win over Manitoba’s Jesse Hiebert and Andrew Gerald Martin to earn a place in the quarter finals. James Ho chose Alberta’s Connor Ross Tannas as his partner, and together the 3/4 seeds took down Alberta’s Michael Suey and Eric Zhang with an impressive 21-13, 21-17 win.

BC’s Harmony Ky paired up with Christy Yam of Ontario for U19 Women’s Doubles and will be advancing to the quarter finals after defeating Manitoba’s Nadine Damphousse and Hanna Rebizant 21-10, 21-15. They will be joined by fellow BC athletes and number one seeds Kylie Cheng and Qingzi Ouyang, who advanced to the quarter finals with a bye.

Three BC athletes earned a spot in the U19 Mixed Doubles quarter finals with their out-of-province partners. James Ho and his partner Danica Lau (ON) toppled 5/8 seeds Antonio Li (BC) and Monica Cowper (AB) in the second round of matches with a narrow 16-21, 21-10, 21-3 victory to clinch their spot. Kylie Cheng paired up with Ontario’s Jonathan Lai and had a similar close call in the second round. Together, the 5/8 seeds went a full three games against Quebec’s Xavier Laperrière and Alyson Ruan, coming out with a 19-21, 21-11, 21-10 win in the end. Lastly, Qingzi Ouyang joined forces with Ontario’s unstoppable Jason Ho-Shue. The number two seeded duo made quick work of Simon Cheng (BC) and Colleen Gillespie (MB) in a 21-12, 21-10 match to advance to the quarter finals. With that happy result, Team BC teammates Ho, Cheng, and Ouyang are all still in the running to win a triple crown at the Nationals.

In U23 Boys’ Doubles, Chris Fan and Trevor Yu will advance to play in the quarter final match. The pair scored a decisive 21-12, 21-13 victory over Alberta’s Jonathan Akin-Mulroney and Sean Mcgowan and will move on to face top seeds Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Nyl Yakura on Thursday.

Lastly, BC’s Jason Wong will move on to play the quarter finals with his partner Lillian Lau of Manitoba. Wong and Lau played a high-energy game against Manitoba’s formidable Kathryne Desautels and Kyle Grymonpre, and after three games clinched a 21-15, 16-21, 21-13 victory. Together, Wong and his partner will face 3/4 seeds Anne-Julie Beaulieu and Maxime Marin from Quebec on Thursday.

Badminton BC is extremely proud of the skill and ability BC’s athletes have demonstrated so far at the 2015 Yonex U23 and Junior Nationals Badminton Championships. With so many athletes leading the charge to a podium finish in their events, the province is well positioned to maintain its status as the best place in Canada to play badminton. Stay tuned for results from Wednesday’s consolation matches before we head into the quarter finals on Thursday!

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