HAWKS CONTINUE TO FLOURISH AGAINST THE BEST IN CANADA
ETOBICOKE, ON: Over the weekend, the Humber Athletic Centre hosted the 2016 Yonex Toronto Open, the first event of the National Badminton circuit for the calendar year. The two-day high-profile tournament featured more than 100 of the best badminton players in Canada, including seven student-athletes from the Humber badminton team.
Competing for Humber in the men's singles draw was: Ryan Chow (Mississauga), Jonathan Young (Richmond Hill), and Jesse Assing (Bethany). Chow, a fourth-year criminal justice major, was given the tough task of defeating Canada's sixth ranked singles player, GuoXing Huang. The 2014 OCAA silver medal winner fell to Huang – 21-9, 21-18. Playing in his first season with Humber, Jonathan Young lost in the first round 21-12 21-10 to Mathieu Morneau from Quebec.
Three-sport student-athlete Jesse Assing, fresh off a CCAA gold medal in men's soccer, defeated Quebec native Gabriel Tesser in the first round. A CCAA silver medal winner in men's singles last year, Assing found himself facing the top-ranked singles player in the country, Andrew D'Souza. Despite the overwhelming odds, Assing played D'Souza tough, but ultimately lost 21-10, 21-11. D'Souza, an Olympic hopeful, lost in the finals to up and comer WenChao Shi.
In the women's singles draw, Humber had Michelle Chow (Markham) and Olivia Lei (Guang Xi). Chow, a second-year nursing student, dropped her opening match to Quebec native Mireille Denis. After claiming gold at the Yonex BC Elite Series back in November, Lei came into the tournament ranked tenth in the country. Lei made quick work of her opponents until the semifinal round, where she ran into the second ranked player in the country, Rachel Honderich. Honderich defeated Lei, setting up a rematch from the 2015 Pan Am gold medal game with top ranked Michelle Li. Li was once again successful against Honderich, winning 21-12, 21-17.
In men's doubles, Humber's Adam Dong (Su Zhou) paired with Arief Gifar Ramadhan and the two went all the way to the finals. Tasked with defeating the top-seeded duo in Kevin Li and Nyl Yakura, Dong and Ramadhan won after a 54 minute battle, claiming gold 25-23, 21-19.
In women's doubles, Boom Nilyok (Thailand) Michelle Chow faced a tough opening match. Qingzi Ouyang and Brittney Tam were the three-seed and were able to knock off the Humber duo 21-9, 21-12. Rachel Honderich and Michelle Li made quick work of the field and claimed the gold medal in women's doubles.
Five Humber Hawks competed in the mixed doubles draw where top ranked players throughout the country teamed up to play together. Ryan Chow and Boom Nilyok paired up and won their first match, however lost their next match 15-21, 21-15, 10-21. Michelle Chow paired up with former Conestoga College student-athlete Dino Bajramovic and lost their first match 21-16, 21-10.
Olivia Lei and Adam Dong once again competed together, after winning gold at the BC Elite Series Open. Sitting as the third-seed, Lei and Dong cruised to the finals before losing to the top-ranked team 13-21, 21-18, 11-21.
The Hawks will have a few days off to recover before they head to Centennial College to play in the Centennial OCAA Invitational January 15-17.
