GHS BADMINTON PLAYERS DEFEND GBSSA CHAMPIONSHIP WITH SECOND UNDEFEATED SEASON

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

BARRIE — Winning gets “easier” as Cameron Bird and Om Patel get better and better.

The Gravenhurst High School badminton players return to Georgian College next weekend a second time after defending their Georgian Bay Secondary School Athletic Association (GBSSA) title this week in Barrie.

The Grade 10 students won the senior boys division once more after doing it as Grade 9 players a year ago — when they went to the Ontario Federation of Secondary Athletic Association (OFSAA).

This time they hope to medal after a solid performance Wednesday.

Cameron Bird and Om Patel have gone undefeated in two seasons of Muskoka-Parry Sound and Georgian Bay regular season and championship competition. Photo Bonnie Dart

Om said the pair actually found this year’s wins “easier.”

Testament to their growing strength with the shuttlecock.

The 16-year-olds are now undefeated in regular school season the past two years and at GBSSA.

Bird and Patel won GBSSA against the same two-some they defeated to win the Muskoka-Parry Sound championship. And the same Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes team they beat in GBSSA round-robin play. Three teams from Muskoka-Parry Sound were eligible to play at the Georgian Bay finals.

The GHS team hopes with more experience and growing confidence and championships to score a few more wins and look for an upset against larger schools where many opponents play on club teams, notably in northeast Toronto in the Markham area where the sport is poplar among Asian communities.

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