CCAA champions crowned at UTM
The 2020 CCAA Badminton National Championships concluded on Saturday, with national champions crowned at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Mixed Doubles
In the first gold medal match of the day, Eyota Kwan and Alexander Fung (NAIT, ACAC) kept their foot on the gas winning the first set of the match. Poy Lo and Christine Nguyen (Seneca College, OCAA) fought hard to overcome the Alberta powerhouse but fell short of the gold medal (21-12, 22-20, 21-17). Kwan and Fung remained undefeated throughout the tournament.
Luc-Ly Nguyen and Connie Juang (NAIT, ACAC Wildcard) rose above CCAA veteran Victoria Duong and Desmond Chan (Humber College, OCAA WC) to capture CCAA bronze. Kyle Yip and Xintong Zhou (UTM, OCAA Host) won their first match of the tournament to finish fifth against Mintra Taylor and Josef Gonzalez (Mount Allison University, ACAA).
Men’s Doubles
Saatvik Mahajan and Faizan Shaikh (Seneca College, OCAA) kept their momentum going into the gold medal match, winning in three sets against CCAA All-Canadian Bryce Mason and Jack Ronahan (University of King’s College, ACAA).
2019 CCAA bronze medalists Arpit Taneja and Ayubu Touray (Humber College, OCAA Wildcard) defended their title, winning 21-8, 21-17, 21-17 over Braxton Wong and Nicolas Pittman (Concordia University of Edmonton, ACAC). Smit Patel and Tyler Walsh (NAIT, ACAC Wildcard) finished fifth ahead of Nicholas Honand Vern Wei Chew (UTM, OCAA Host).
Women’s Doubles
Three-time CCAA champion and All-Canadian, Chloe Rowe and Susanna Quach (Humber College, OCAA) defeated Jasleen Kaur and Johnna Rymes (Concordia University of Edmonton, ACAC) in two straight sets (21-18, 21-14) to capture gold. This will be Rowe’s fourth podium appearance.
Fiona Purdy and Katherine Zhu (University of King’s College, ACAA) battled hard taking the match into three sets but fell to Samantha Hsu and Ivy Ung (NAIT, ACAC Wildcard) who secured CCAA bronze. Kate Huang and Danna Biboso (UTM, OCAA-Host) picked up their first win of the tournament to finish fifth over Helen Ngu and Maeyen Chua (Fanshawe College, OCAA Wildcard).
Women’s Singles
First-year Huyen Le (George Brown, OCAA) won in a three-set battle of the best against CCAA champion and 2020 CCAA Women's Badminton Player of the Year, Takeisha Wang (Concordia University of Edmonton, ACAC) in 45-minutes of nail-biting, chest-clutching action. Wang was the only one to hand Le a set loss over the course of three days. Le remained undefeated (7-0), holding her opponents to two sets throughout the tournament.
2019 CCAA silver medalist,Anh Hoang (George Brown College, OCAA Wildcard) won in three sets against first-year Priyanna Ramdhani (Olds College, ACAC Wildcard) to take CCAA bronze. Chloe Moisan (Sainte Anne University, ACAA) won in two straight sets (21-19, 21-6) against Margaret Anderson (UTM, OCAA Host) to capture fifth place.
Men’s Singles
In the last match of the CCAA Championships, provincial rivals Ramnish Kumar (Humber College, OCAA) and Pranav Satheesh (OCAA Wildcard) went point for point in a three-set, 50 minute showcase of grit and determination. Both men battled hard but Satheesh ultimately came out on top in a 22-20 third set win to claim gold.
Roymond Kim (NAIT, ACAC) made the CCAA podium, winning 21-8, 21-11 against Narayan Ramdhani (King’s University, ACAC Wildcard). Ryan Chen (UTM, OCAA Host) placed fifth ahead of Jack Gillies (University of King’s College, ACAA) in a two-set match-up.
