The future of Bermuda badminton is on full display at the prestigious Victor Junior Ontario Tournament in Markham, Canada. Competing at the PanAm Centre, the Bermuda Junior team is testing its mettle against a massive field of 468 entries from Canada and overseas, showcasing the results of years of dedicated development back home.
For three years, the junior players have been meticulously groomed by coaches Emma Moran-Lee and Aaron Simmons, who also serve as the country's current #1 ranked singles players. Their consistent coaching sessions at Somersfield Academy have focused on developing a pipeline of talent, with players ranked highly for their age group in both singles and doubles.
This trip marks the first overseas competition for most of these junior players, a crucial step in the BCB’s plan to grow the sport, with a future trip to the Caribbean already planned.
The Bermuda players took to the courts on the first day in the singles competitions, securing multiple hard-earned victories:
U17 Boys: Both Finn Peters and Michael Mohipp secured first-round wins. Peters battled through a close three-setter (22-20, 21-16) before falling to Sichen Zhu (21-10, 21-10) in the Round of 32. Mohipp had a comfortable opener (21-10, 21-5) against Benson Deng but was stopped in his next match by Jeffrey Jiayi Zeng (21-13, 21-18).
U15 Boys: James Bigley stole the headlines with an epic three-match victory over Justin XIAOCHUAN Zhou (16-21, 21-18, 21-18). His reward was a tough Round of 16 against the number one seed, Lucas Shanze Chen, where he ultimately fell (21-6, 21-6).
U15 Boys Consolation: JitHom Liew bounced back from a close first-round loss (21-9, 22-20) to impress in the consolation bracket. He secured two further victories, defeating Jeramy M.Q. He (21-19, 18-21, 21-14) and Mahin Shahin (21-19, 22-20) to advance to the quarter-finals.
U19 Boys Consolation: Facing older, more experienced opponents, Aaron Lee and Joseph Lau both went out in their main draw first rounds. However, both made a strong run in the Consolation Tournament. Lee won an extended three-set battle against Eric Xu (21-17, 15-21, 21-19) before his run ended against Eric Tan (21-10, 21-12). Lau defeated Samuel Lin (21-19, 17-21, 21-11) before falling in his quarter-final (21-10, 21-19) to Aryan Rahul.
The second half of the day saw the teams pivot to the doubles events, which brought more success and further lessons:
U17 Boys: Finn Peters and Michael Mohipp proved they are a potent pair, winning a thrilling three-setter (21-17, 17-21, 21-14) to advance to the quarter-finals of the main draw.
U19 Boys Consolation: Aaron Lee and Joseph Lau continued their successful partnership, winning their consolation match (21-16, 21-16) to progress to the semi-finals of the Consolation Tournament.
U15 Girls: Kate Pursell and Emmalyn Tothong narrowly lost a tough three-set opening battle, going down 20-22 in the deciding game, but went on to take an admirable second place in the consolation tournament.
The U15 Boys (Liew/Bigley) and U17 Girls (DeSilva/McClure) faced very strong opposition but were praised for playing excellent badminton and showing marked improvement with every game.
The Bermuda juniors are holding their own on a massive international stage, confirming the growth and quality of badminton talent coming out of the island.
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