Club - Badminton | 3/21/2025 10:00:00 AM
It was a successful OUA championship on home soil for the York University Lions badminton team.
The Lions swung their way to a bronze medal at the championships held at Tait McKenzie Centre last month, finishing third for a second straight year. The Lions were guided by a pair of first-year players in Brian Yang and Chloe Lee. Yang took home male the male MVP award, while he and Lee garnered OUA rookie of the year awards and all-star nods in their respective genders.
Yang, ranked 33rd in the world in men's singles by the Badminton World Federation, lost only one match of the 11 in which he played over the three-day event in both singles and doubles. That included a pair of wins against the Western Mustangs in the bronze medal tie. He defeated Jackie Kai in straight sets in singles play before teaming up with fellow all-star Sophia Nong to down Jasper Tang and Karen Ki in mixed doubles, also in straight sets.
Lee, meanwhile, becomes the second York player in three years to win a rookie of the year award after Victor Lai earned the men's honour in 2023. She went 9-2 over the weekend, serving as a major threat on the women's side helping guide York to the final podium placement. Her biggest victory was a come-from-behind mixed doubles win with Lai in the bronze medal tie to give York some breathing room in its 6-3 win over Western to capture the bronze.
The aforementioned Lai earns an all-star nod for the second time in three years after winning the male MVP award in 2023 thanks to his part in guiding the Lions to their first badminton title in 24 years which helped him earn York male rookie of the year honours. The third-year Lion had another outstanding showing this time around, emerging victorious in 11 of his 12 matches at the championships. In addition to his mixed doubles win with Lee in the semis, Lai also won convincingly in men's doubles along with Nathaniel Chan in the bronze medal tie. His most impressive win of the weekend, however, came in pool play with a dominant 2-0 (21-5, 21-8) win over Ivan Cheng of the Waterloo Warriors.
Nong is the fourth Lion to be bestowed an OUA award and the third named an OUA all-star team following a championship in which she too lost only a single match. She also contributed a pair of victories in York's bronze medal win over Western, beating Katy Wong in singles play 2-0 (22-20, 21-8) in addition to the mixed doubles win with Yang. Her signature triumph came in pool play when she defeated Ottawa's Angel Dong in singles 2-0 (21-3, 21-4).
The Lions look ahead toward 2026 with the goal of remaining on the podium and fighting for an OUA banner once again.
