Four badminton athletes named to Canadian Olympic Team for Paris 2024

TORONTO (May 15, 2024) – Badminton Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada badminton athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes are:

Adam Dong (Burlington, Ont.) – Men’s Doubles
Michelle Li (Markham, Ont.) – Women’s Singles
Nyl Yakura (Pickering, Ont.) – Men’s Doubles
Brian Yang (Richmond Hill, Ont.) – Men’s Singles

The four athletes qualified for Team Canada based on their performances throughout the qualification period, which began May 1, 2023 and ended April 28, 2024.

Michelle Li, who has won three Pan Am Games gold medals in women’s singles (Guadalajara 2011, Toronto 2015 and Lima 2019), will make her fourth Olympic appearance in Paris. After being sidelined with a knee injury in the second half of last season, which left her unable to compete at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, Li returned to competition in 2024, finishing third at the German Open, a BWF Super Tour 300 event. Li advanced to the Round of 16 in women’s singles at Tokyo 2020, matching Canada’s best ever Olympic result in the event. She also owns the best ever Olympic result by a Canadian in any badminton event, a fourth-place finish in women’s doubles with partner Alexandra Bruce at London 2012.

“It always is an amazing feeling and unforgettable experience to qualify for an Olympics. The qualification process itself is such a challenge, it’s an absolute grind to overcome the number of unexpected challenges we face in this year,” said Li. “For me I battled injury, recovery from surgery, change in coaching, training, financial situation and other struggles. I’m really happy I was still able to pull through and qualify for my fourth Olympics.”

Paris 2024 will mark Brian Yang’s second Olympic appearance. The Santiago 2023 gold medallist in men’s singles became the first men’s singles player from the Pan American region to reach the final of a Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super Tour 500 event, when he won the silver medal at the 2024 Indonesia Masters after beating the third-ranked men’s singles player in the world.

Yang revels in representing Team Canada at major Games. At the Buenos Aires 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games, Yang won gold in the mixed team relay event. He made his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 as the youngest member of Canada’s badminton team. Later that year, Yang was named Team Canada’s co-flag bearer for the Cali 2021 Junior Pan American Games Opening Ceremony. He went on to win gold in both the men’s singles and the mixed doubles event with teammate Rachel Chan.

“I’m feeling very excited and looking forward to the Paris 2024 experience,” said Yang. “I feel like this time, compared to Tokyo 2020, I have a better shot at doing well. I’m excited to play for a full crowd and I’m hoping that the atmosphere in the venue will be crazy!”

Adam Dong will make his Olympic debut at Paris 2024. The 30-year-old made his Pan Am Games debut for Team Canada at Santiago 2023 when he won men’s doubles gold with partner Nyl Yakura. He came out of retirement to team up with Yakura in late 2021, and decided to continue his pursuit of representing Team Canada at the Olympic Games after becoming a Canadian citizen in February 2022.

Yakura will make his second Olympic appearance after having competed with former men’s doubles partner Jason Ho-Shue at Tokyo 2020. Yakura is a two-time Pan Am Games champion – he won in 2019 with Ho-Shue, before repeating as men’s doubles champion in 2023 with Dong. Dong and Yakura head to Paris after a successful 2023 season in which they won gold at the Pan American Championships a few months before competing at their first BWF World Championships together. The duo won silver at the 2024 Pan Am Championships.

“I’m super thrilled that Adam and I have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” said Yakura. “It will be my second time at the Olympics and it’s an amazing opportunity that I am truly proud of and grateful to have achieved alongside Adam and everyone who has been a part of our journey.”

“Badminton Canada congratulates the athletes named to Team Canada for the Paris 2024 Olympics,” said Bryan Merrett, Executive Director of Badminton Canada. “Brian, Michelle, Adam and Nyl have worked extremely hard to secure a position in these Games. We look forward to cheering them on as they pursue Olympic dreams.”

“We are bringing a veteran team to Paris. That would be Michelle’s fourth Olympics, second  Games for Brian and Nyl, and Adam’s first Games as a new Canadian. They have a lot of experience to draw from, and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their goals for these Games,” added Mike Butler, ChPC, National Head Coach.

Badminton has been an official Olympic sport since Barcelona 1992, where singles and doubles events for both men and women were contested. Canada’s highest Olympic placement to date is the fourth-place finish by Li and Bruce in women’s doubles at London 2012. In singles play, four Canadian women have advanced to the Round of 16, most recently Li at Tokyo 2020. The only Canadian man to reach the Round of 16 was Iain Sydie at Atlanta 1996.

“I’m eager to cheer on the Canadian badminton team as they compete against the world’s best on the Olympic stage,” said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. “These talented athletes have enjoyed great success at the 2023 Pan American Games and they will certainly make us experience other thrilling moments in Paris!”

Badminton will take place July 27 to August 5 (Day 1 to 10) at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

Team Canada’s badminton team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following coaches and support staff:

Mike Butler, ChPC (Saint-John, N.B.) – Head Coach
Mike Luck (Montreal, Que.) – High Performance Director and Team Leader
Mario Santoso (Jakarta, Indonesia) – Assistant Coach

The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Gilda Rodrigues, Communications, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager
Badminton Canada
C: 613 518 1501 ext.2084
E: grodrigues@badminton.ca

Tara MacBournie, Program Manager, Sport Communications
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca