Badminton Team: Rising Success | [Team Name/Location]

The Citadins badminton team participated in three tournaments this fall. The troop led by Alexis Gohier-Drolet occupies fourth position among men and fifth place in the mixed ranking. “The good news is that there was a notable progression in our performances between the first and the third tournament,” rejoices the Uqamian pilot.

The team was, among others, able to count on inspired performances from Mia Boissonneault and Justine Hodgson, in women’s doubles, and from Axel Cattalano and Philippe Bélanger, in men’s doubles. Rookies Benjamin Pelletier and Alex Ranger also won important matches by keeping their cool.

A young team

Only 6 of the 21 members of the badminton team were on the team two years ago. “We have a young team that will mature over the next few years,” commented Alexis Gohier-Drolet. I am grateful for the leadership of the veterans, particularly captain Christine Dulude, as well as the excellent work accomplished by coaches Nadianie Ouaqouaq-Bergeron, Jérémy Pellerin and Francis Dubé.”

The team experienced a lot of emotion last November when assistant coach Francis Dubé announced his departure from the team after a brilliant university career. As a player, he achieved 58 victories in five years as well as a gold medal at the Provincial Championships. He has also accompanied the team towards winning four banners since 2022. “We will miss his energy, his educational approach and his tactical mastery of the game,” underlined Alexis Gohier-Drolet.

Furthermore, the head coach reacted to the announcement of the elimination of 25 sports teams from McGill University, including badminton. “It’s a hard blow for the athletes,” he laments. This announcement weakens the university circuit, which has an important role to play in the badminton ecosystem at the provincial and national levels.

The Citadins will participate in a tournament in Trois-Rivières on January 17 and 18, the last before the provincial championships. “Our goal is to finish in fourth position in order to qualify for the championships,” concludes the head coach. If we manage to raise our level of play, we could create some surprises.”