Snider returns to the top of Canadian badminton

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This article was published 23/02/2011 (5699 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the first step towards his dream of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, David Snider captured his second Canadian men’s badminton championship.

Snider defeated Joseph Rogers of Ontario 21-17, 21-14 in the final at Humber College in Toronto on Jan. 30.

The win came a year after one of the biggest disappointments of the 22-year-old Fort Garry resident’s career: a semifinal loss in the 2010 event, which was played at the Winnipeg Winter Club.

This year’s victory had a different flavour from Snider’s first, which came in 2009.

“The first one came as a bit of a surprise to me,” he said. “The main difference is that I was favoured to win this one, and after the disappointment of last year I was eager to win it.”

As happy as Snider was to recapture the national crown, the tournament wasn’t a major focus of his in recent months.

Snider lived in Denmark from late August until early December, training at the country’s prestigious International Badminton Academy. While trying to break some bad old habits, his game regressed, producing some discouraging results in big events.

“My level of play took a hit as I was trying to change a lot of things in my game,” he said. “So it was nice to get back on the horse and get back to my old level while implementing some new things (in Toronto).”

For the first time since revamping his game, Snider said he was able to push all the thoughts about his technique into the background and simply play the game with confidence.

“That’s a big challenge,” Snider said. “It’s very easy to slip back into (old habits), but I found that by just relaxing the techniques and tactics I learned settle in quite well without me knowing it.”

For an elite player like Snider, whose goal is represent Canada in the Olympics, the greatest challenge is finding the competition necessary to improve. That’s why he’s hoping his sabbatical in Europe — and his recent trip to the Commonwealth Games, where he finished in the round of 32 — will pay off.

“I hope that it will pay very large dividends,” he said. “The struggle in the sport is being so far removed from Europe and Asia.”

The qualification period for the London Games begins in May, and if Snider expects to make it he’ll need to commit to an intensive international schedule.

With Canada not guaranteed a spot in London, Snider will need to reach a reasonably high level in the world ranking to earn a trip to the Olympics.

“I haven’t put together a schedule yet,” he said. “I want to play at least 20 tournaments in a year if I want a good shot.”

avi.saper@canstarnews.com