June 16, 2021
Team Canada will be represented by more badminton athletes than ever before at the Olympic Games this summer, as eight Canadians take to the courts in Tokyo.
With individual athletes or duos having qualified in each event, Canada will be one of nine countries to compete in each of them, making five in total.
Michelle Li is the highest-ranked player in Canada, making the top 10 of the BWF Olympic Qualifying Rankings in women’s singles as she prepares to compete in her third straight Olympic Games. Since the beginning of her career, Li has been a pioneer of her sport among women in Canada and has become the most successful badminton player in the sport in the country on the women’s side.
LIMA, Peru – Michelle Li wins gold following the badminton singles final at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games on August 2, 2019. Photo: Dave Holland/COC
After winning two gold medals at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Li competed in her first Olympic Games at London 2012, where she contributed to Canada’s best-ever Olympic finish with her partner Alex Bruce, then finishing in fourth place in the women’s doubles.
Since then, Li has continued to grace catwalks all over the world. In 2014, she became the first Canadian to win badminton singles gold at a Commonwealth Games and successfully defended her singles title at the Pan American Games in 2015. Li won a third gold medal in singles in a row at the Pan American Games in Lima 2019, in addition to rising to eighth in the world, his best ranking ever.
It has experienced all this success without having the same resources as its main rivals on an international scale. She often travels alone to compete, making do without a physiotherapist to help her at tournaments, constantly aware of the need to avoid injury. She took a year off after the Rio 2016 Games to return to full health after playing through some injuries.
LIMA, Peru. – Brian Yang competes in the badminton event at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games on July 31, 2019. Photo: Andrew Lahodynskyj/COC
In men’s singles, Canada will be well represented by Brian Yang. Only 19 years old, this native Torontonian has written his name in the history books of Canadian sports throughout his young career.
In 2016, he became the youngest junior champion in Canadian history after winning the under-19 title at the age of 14. He also became the youngest national under-23 champion in history at 15 years old. In 2019, he added to his list of accomplishments by becoming the youngest player in history to win the senior national singles title.
He previously represented Canada in Lima in 2019, where he won the singles silver medal. Most recently, he captured singles gold at the 2021 Pan American Championships.
Canada will also have three duos entered in the different doubles events in Tokyo.
Nyl Yakura and Jason Ho-Shue take gold in the men’s doubles badminton tournament at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, August 2, 2019. Photo: Dave Holland/COC
Jason Ho-Shue and Nyl Yakura will make their Olympic debut in the men’s tournament. Together, this duo has won four straight gold medals at the Pan American Championships, as well as a gold medal in Lima in 2019.
For the women, Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tsai will team up in Tokyo. Honderich and Tsai have proven themselves by winning the Pan American Championships three times together, in 2018, 2019 and 2021, as well as doubles gold at the 2019 Pan American Games.
Kristen Tsai and Rachel Honderich pose after winning women’s gold at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Photo: Dave Holland/COC
Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu will compete in the mixed doubles tournament. They have been partners since 2015 and are preparing to compete in their first Olympic Games together. In 2019, this duo won mixed doubles gold at the Pan American Games as well as the Pan American Championships. Recently, they successfully defended their title at the 2021 Pan American Championships.
Qualification for Tokyo 2020 was based on the BWF Olympic Qualification Rankings, whose run to Tokyo ended on June 15. Results dating back to April 2019 were retained, except for a pause from mid-March 2020 to early January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIMA, Peru – Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu win gold in the mixed doubles badminton event at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games on August 2, 2019. Photo by Dave Holland/COC
This is the first time since the Sydney 2000 Games that Canada has athletes in all five events. In Rio in 2016, Canada had only two entries, in men’s and women’s singles.
The best Olympic badminton result in Canadian history was recorded at London 2012, in women’s doubles, thanks to Michelle Li and Alex Bruce, when they took fourth place. Three women have reached the round of 16 in singles, with the most recent achievement being Anna Rice at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Badminton matches at the Tokyo 2020 Games will begin on the first day of the Games, July 24, and continue until August 2 at the Musashino Forest Sports Center.
Team Canada athletes in badminton at the Tokyo 2020 Games :
Jason Ho-Shue (Markham, ON) – Double masculin
Rachel Honderich (Toronto, ON) – Women’s Doubles
Joshua Hurlburt-Yu (Scarborough, ON) – Women’s Doubles
Michelle Li (Markham, ON) – Women’s Singles
Kristen Tsai (Burnaby, BC) – Women’s Doubles
Josephine Wu (Edmonton, AB) – Women’s Doubles
Nyl Yakura (Pickering, ON) – Double masculin
Brian Yang (Richmond Hill, ON) – Simple masculin
2021-06-16 07:00:00
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