Vyas advances to WOSSAA badminton boys singles tournament

Om Vyas represented Tillsonburg Gemini at the TVRA Southeast badminton championships, capturing third place in a highly-competitive boys singles division, along with a WOSSAA berth. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

Tillsonburg Gemini Om Vyas was pleased with his own performance amongst ‘the best of the best

of the best’ Thames Valley Regional Athletics Association (TVRA) Southeast senior boys’ singles badminton players.

“I’m happy I’m going to WOSSAA (Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletics Association),” he said following a solid third-place finish in the TVRA Southeast tournament Thursday, April 16 at Woodstock Huron Park.

Vyas was the lone Gemini representative at the event, what coach Louie Tzavelas laughingly agreed was a ‘small but mighty’ contingent.

“That would be a good way to describe us,” said the coach, like Vyas preferring to see more Gemini advance to TVRA Southeast, but happy with a numerically-strong turnout for both practice and the TVRA South tournament this year. “And a fantastic group of kids.”

Vyas is an intelligent player says Tzavelas, using his head during competition along with his racquet arm and legs.

“Very cerebral, able to read the game and adjust.”

Tillsonburg competed at the TVRA South qualifier tournament, the lone Oxford school to do so in an effort to balance numbers and opportunity to advance. Vyas qualified to represent Tillsonburg at TVRA Southeast, opening with victories guaranteeing his place at WOSSAA, before running into eventual champion Tyler Michiels from Lord Dorchester. Vyas’ first loss put him up against Navtej Bedi from the host school, an opponent whose still badminton waters ran deep.

“Very calm,” credited Vyas of an opponent he - and others - found difficult to read. “I would hit a shot, but he’s there with a better shot. Hit a drop - he’s there - a smash, he’s there.

“And a couple of unforced errors.”

Exiting the draw in third place (Bedi would lose to Michiels in the final), Vyas was pleased with his performance amongst the top three players, close games which could have gone either way. Each had improved Vyas believed in a competitive and yet positive environment in which post-match discussion was shared around what each had done well, what each could do better in the future.

“There’s nothing hostile,” said Vyas. “Everyone was real, real nice.”

He began playing badminton in Thompson, Manitoba, a community located eight hours north of Winnipeg. A pair of former semi-professional coaches fostered a program including a pair of teammates eventually competing at provincials. Vyas transferred to Glendale last year during Grade 11 in conjunction with his family’s purchase of a convenience store in Otterville, joining a Gemini team he was able to practice far more with this season. He is looking forward to putting what he learned at TVRA Southeast into play at WOSSAA, fully realizing it’s another elevated level of competition.

“I’m just going to try my best,” he concluded.