John Taylor’s Jia takes second at badminton provincials

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This article was published 12/05/2015 (3825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

John Taylor Collegiate senior Danhui Jia left it all on the court at the MHSAA Provincial Badminton Championships.

The championship tournament took place May 1 and 2 in Winkler, Man. Jia, who played in the girls’ singles category, started off the competition with a seven-game winning streak and went undefeated the first day of the tournament. On Saturday morning, Jia lost her first game and found herself instantly in a fighting position for the rest of the day, as it was a double elimination tournament.

“When I lost the first game I thought ‘I’m going to be out because I can’t lose anymore,’ it was so stressful,” Jia said.

The 18-year-old started playing the game young when she lived in Zhuhai, China. Jia moved to Canada with her family three years ago and took up the game after a five year hiatus during her Grade 11 year. Last season she played in the mixed doubles category and this year decided to try out singles for the first time.

“It’s great because you have to depend on yourself and you have to take all the pressures on your own, nobody can help you but you,” Jia said.

She put on her game face and won five more matches to lead her into the championship game against a familiar opponent — Anika Alexander from Vincent Massey. Jia lost to Alexander in the city championship final and was determined to do her best at beating her this time around. Jia came up a short in the final as the first game was 16-21 and the second slightly closer at 17-21.

 Jia earned second place in the girls singles category at the championship and says she enjoyed the season and learned a lot from her coaches at John Taylor Collegiate. While badminton is a big part of her life, Jia manages to balance a couple of advanced placement classes in chemistry and psychology, her two favourite subjects. She was recently accepted to further her education on the west coast at the University of British Columbia.

“The weather is nice and the university is so big and it’s near the sea so it’s fantastic,” Jia said.

Aside from Jia’s impressive performance at the tournament, several other John Taylor Collegiate athletes scooped up recognitions at provincials as well. Izzy Robak and Cole Armstrong came in 7th in mixed doubles, Madison Fyvie and partner Shaye Kemball also came in 7th in girls’ doubles and Rachel Koniuck and Brett Armstrong took home 20th in mixed double.

Jia hopes to continue playing badminton any chance she gets through club teams and with her friends.