Banner Season: Toronto wins third straight OUA badminton championship
Toronto, Ont. (C/O Toronto Varsity Blues) - On Day 3 of the 2026 OUA Badminton Championship, the Toronto Varsity Blues bested the Waterloo Warriors 6-3 in the gold medal match to claim their third consecutive OUA championship, meanwhile the Western Mustangs earned the bronze medal at the U of T Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto on Sunday, Mar. 8.
"It's a special feeling," said OUA Male Rookie of the Year Asher Bedi. "It's been great working with the team, everyone plays an important part."
The Blues and Warriors took the court in a back-and-forth affair, with momentum constantly shifting and both teams proving why they are premiere teams in the OUA all weekend long. Toronto punched their ticket to the gold medal match with a 6-0 win in their tie against the York Lions. Meanwhile, Waterloo outlasted the Western Mustangs to win five straight games on their way to a 6-1 win.
After splitting the first two singles ties in the gold medal match, three straight Toronto wins put them in the driver's seat. Waterloo continued to show no quit, trading wins with U of T. Waterloo's duo of Liam Zhang and Michael Ji living up to their OUA all-star status with a key win to keep the Warriors alive. Meanwhile for U of T, OUA all-star Chloe Choi picked up wins in women's singles and doubles action. The final tie was a men's doubles contest between Toronto's Clarence Chau and Nathan Mills and Waterloo's Jacob Kim and Raymond Li. With both teams giving everything they had, a late block from Chau was difference maker in the game-point win for Toronto.
In the bronze medal match, the Western Mustangs were victorious over the York Lions. The tight contest was knotted up at 2-2 after four ties. A rally from the Mustangs saw them win four ties in a row in a 6-2 win. Ethan Yan helped lead Western to victory with back-to-back wins in both men's and mixed doubles action.
Day 3 also saw the McMaster Marauders defeat the Ottawa Gee-Gees 6-2 in the fifth-place match and the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks defeating the TMU Bold to win the consolation bracket.
Taking home hardware, Ontario Tech's Joshua Nguyen won MVP honours on the men's side, meanwhile York's Sophia Nong capped off her OUA career by earning MVP on the women's side.
"It's a full circle moment," Nong said. "I'm really honoured and proud, especially in my last year this is a testament to the work that I put in over the years. There are so many incredible athletes that put in so much work. To be chosen as female MVP means a lot to me. It's a good ending and the start of a next chapter."
Also earning awards were Toronto's Asher Bedi and Emma Meng, earning male and female Rookie of the Year honours and U of T's head coach Brian Tjoa was named Coach of the Year in his first season on U of T's sidelines.
Final Standings
Gold: Toronto
Silver: Waterloo
Bronze: Western
4th: York
5th: McMaster
6th: Ottawa
7th: Ontario Tech
8th: TMU
9th: Guelph
Major Awards and All-Stars
Men's MVP: Joshua Nguyen (Ontario Tech)
Women's MVP: Sophia Nong (York)
Men's Rookie of the Year: Asher Bedi (Toronto)
Women's Rookie of the Year: Emma Meng (Toronto)
Coach of the Year: Brian Tjoa (Toronto)
Men's All-Stars
Aiden Siow (TMU)
Andy Bai (Ottawa)
Asher Bedi (Toronto)
Clarence Chau (Toronto)
Jasper Tang (Western)
Joshua Nguyen (Ontario Tech)
Liam Zhang (Waterloo)
Michael Ji (Waterloo)
Women's All-Stars
Ashley Wong (Waterloo)
Chloe Choi (Toronto)
Chloe Hoang (Ontario Tech)
Chloe Wang (McMaster)
Emma Meng (Toronto)
Jackie Dent (Toronto)
Sophia Nong (York)
Tina Tian (Western)