Two Sylvan Lake youths, Callum Keating and Kya Pritchard, with expanding enthusiasm towards the sport of badminton are off to a great start bringing home gold from the Airdrie Jr. Yonex Badminton mixed-doubles tournament as one of their firsts.
“They beat three other teams in the tournament to take home the gold medal. The pair have been training since October and travelled to two other tournaments prior to the Airdrie tournament. Callum and Kya stuck to the game plan and used their power and finesse along with their teamwork to beat their opponents in some very close matches. Callum also won a bronze medal in U19 men’s doubles category,” said coach Hoang Le.
Keating, who has a fondness for fast-paced games with strategy says he enjoys the teamwork necessary to win the doubles categories. While he started playing competitively about four years ago, this was only Keating’s second, but strong badminton tournament.
“I feel like my hard work is finally starting to pay off. Hopefully, these wins are the first of many,” said Keating.
Depending on her current injuries, Pritchard hopes to grow and learn skills toward a more competitive future in badminton.
The duo trains and plays for the Red Deer Youth Badminton Club. Pritchard and Keating were among five players who travelled to Airdrie for the three-day tournament starting Feb. 18, which was hosted by Badminton Alberta.
Keating looks forward to his next tournament in Olds on March 11 and March 12. Anyone interested to join badminton training can reach out to the club coach at hoang.le@wrsd.ca.