Friday: First tight match was between the first seed Richard Liang and Benny Lin. Richard won the first game 21-16 but Benny fought back with an amazing 21-11 win bringing it to 3 games! I couldn't watch the 3rd game because I had to play my match. Richard pulled through just enough to defeat Benny 26-24!
On the bottom half, second seed Tim Ma was to play club mate Kaz Tamasauskas. That match ended with Tim passing through to the semi-finals, 14-21, 21-19, 21-13.
Women's singles only had a draw of 7 contestants! Sarah Kong and Phyllis Chan played off against one another in the semi-finals. The first game was neck to neck until the end but Phyllis ended the game 21-19 with a net roll! Phyllis continued the next game with an easy 21-8 victory.
Being played on the other side of the gym was future superstar Christin Tsai against current superstar Anna Rice! Christin came out aggressive in the first game and was just enough to take it away from Anna, 23-21. Fortunately for Anna, experience and fitness came to play and Christin could not keep up with Grand Master Rice. Although almost every rally was intense, it was Anna who was winning each one. Anna defeated Christin 21-23, 21-13, 21-9. Good effort from Christin who never gave up and was even diving at the last rally!
Last on was men's semi-finals. I played Richard Liang and won in two sets, 21-16, 21-14. Having a pretty injured shoulder I knew I could not attack as much as I would want to but being confident with my own fitness, I was able to compensate with my speed and power of my footwork. I focused on keeping the bird in and over while pushing the speed of the game faster by just getting to each bird earlier.
On the bottom, Tim Ma played Jacky Tsao. I did not watch the first 2 games but did manage to watch the 3rd. Tim was up late in the 3rd but lost focus as Jacky came full force attacking every shot. As tired as Jacky was from playing Tim the runner, he didn't stop hitting those full smashes and rushing into the net. Too bad Tim was able to defend enough that Jacky started making too many unforced error due to his exhaustion. Tim ran his opponent down, 21-16, 18-21, 21-18.
Saturday: Men's doubles started off the day. Nothing really exciting.. sorry! Adrian and I played Nathan Choi and Kyle Holoboff in the semis. We pummelled the first game 21-8, but they came back fighting making it closer getting 10 more points than their first set. It was pretty tight throughout the whole 2nd set but Adrian and I were able to keep our mistakes low at the end claiming our spot in the finals.
Women's doubles.... ummm... hehehe.. I didnt watch women's doubles... Sorry!!
Mixed!! Kevin So and Rosalynn Chong pulled a huge upset defeating the 3/4 seed Jacky Tsao and Melody Liang. Kevin was hitting huge and moving well while Rosalynn was defending well and hitting some great set up shots! Jacky did not seem to know what he was doing and Melody was showing lots of frustration towards her partner! Good job So/Chong!
The other 3/4 seed, Tim Ma and Christin Tsai were eliminated in the next round by club mates Nathan Choi and Anna Rice. It was a quick win for Choi/Rice. 21-18, 21-14.
Kevin So and Rosalynn Chong does it again! Almost taking the match in 2 but did it in 3, defeating Kyle Holoboff and Alice Man, 21-18, 20-22, 21-12!! Now they were to play Phyllis and I!
Unfortunately Kevin and Ros could not keep their streak to continue. Phyllis and I claimed a smooth victory, 21-11, 21-12.
Last match of the day was Alvin Lau/Steph Ko against Nathan Choi/Anna Rice. With Choi/Rice unorthodox, almost women's doubles style of play, with all that clearing and dropping, Lau/Ko won in 3 sets, 21-16, 13-21, 21-12.
Sunday, the Finals!
First match: Mixed doubles, Alvin Lau/Steph Ko vs Myself/Phyllis Chan. Alvin and Steph started out playing well pushing themselves ahead by 11. Refocusing and changing my game plan, I knew that I either had to push a bit harder and to keep poking the bird down. I also had to be more aware of Steph's lefty forehand cut off which cost me a few points. Phyllis and I were able to come back narrowly capturing the first set, 24-22. Now with a plan that worked, I focused again on keeping my legs/feet moving pushing the pace a bit faster yet still keeping my game plan in tact! Phyllis and I won the Mixed Doubles Finals, 24-22, 21-14.
Second match: Women's Singles, Anna Rice vs Phyllis Chan. This was quite an exciting match to watch. Phyllis had quite a few around the hit cross court shot winners! I can definitely see she got that from her coach, Sandiarto! Yet Anna, the machine, was able to keep playing the game she's plays capturing the BC Closed Women's Singles title, 21-16, 21-18!
Third match: Men's Singles, Me again vs Tim Ma. Okay, this is the first time I have been in a Provincial Singles Final! Playing Tim multiple of times, we both knew what each other were capable of. I started off the game with a huge head start with a 7-1 lead, then got to interval winning 11-3. I won the first game 21-11. Second set I knew Tim would come back fighting harder. Staying focused I was able to keep doing what I was doing right in the first and took the Men's Singles title, 21-11, 21-16.
Fourth Match: Women's Doubles, Phyllis Chan/Steph Ko vs Melody Liang/Lydia Jiang. Phyllis and Steph won the first match 21-18! Melody was making most of the mistakes but woke up in the 2nd. Mel/Lydia started the 2nd game with a commanding lead!Phyllis/Steph tried to catch back up but was unable to do so. Mel/Lydia took the 2nd and 3rd game 21-16, 21-10.
Last Match: Men's Doubles, Me/Adrian Liu vs Tim Ma/Richard Liang. Adrian and I, 2 doubles players who train full times doubles against 2 singles players. There were some decent rallies but Adrian and I had a better attack, rotation, defense, drives and speed. We won 21-16, 21-10.
This is my first Open event in which I tripled crowned! So in the end, ClearOne had 4/5 1st place finishes (men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles)!!
Overall: BC Closed ran very smoothly. The tournament was not behind at all, rather it was ahead of schedule by at least 15 minutes. Consolations were played accordingly and did not interfere with the main matches which kept all players happy! One thing I liked about this tournament was the fact we had unlimited birds. Of course having unlimited birds, something from the budget would be sacrificed which would be the tournament t-shirt! I felt that having unlimited birds was much better than having another badminton tshirt in which I may never wear! It was also nice knowing you could go to a tournament without having to pull out your wallet again just to get another bird to play with! Hollyburn Country Club was a nice venue to play in. They recently redid their badminton courts and WOW, they are absolutely incredible. It is still a wood floor but the court seems to be of another material. You have to see it and play on it to know exactly what it's like! Other than that, the only thing that didn't work out too well was the amount of spectators watching the finals. I do believe there's really nothing that could have been done about that having the tournament at Hollyburn. I guess it was a little bit too far and the finals started a bit too early for people to come watch. I would also like to thank Arak Bhokanandh for putting his time and effort into organizing the tournament. Also thanks to the volunteers/ref/umpires! And I almost forgot... the BEST thing about this tournament... Cash Prize!!!
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