Cougar earns SOSSA gold
Kiet Duong battled back from a loss in the first set to capture the boys singles title at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) badminton championships Thursday at Smithville District Christian High School.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student at Centennial defeated Tyler Thompson of Denis Morris 17-21, 21-12, 21-18 for the gold medal to advance to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championship May 2-4 in Barrie.
“The first one was the toughest one,” he said. “I lost the first set and then I tried my best to win again. I was really nervous at first but I knew I could win. I believed in myself.
“I wasn’t sure but I was confident at first. I thought I was going to win at the beginning.”
Duong made it to SOSSA the past two years but failed to qualify for OFSAA.
“I’m really excited,” he smiled.
Centennial badminton coach Amanda Flintoft has high praise for Duong.
“He’s amazing. I can’t really take credit for how far he’s come,” Flintoft said. “His smashing is amazing and the backhand is what wins these tournaments. He definitely has a strong backhand and a good serve.
“It’s about outsmarting the other player. Skill is important, but it’s more the wit behind it and he’s definitely good at that.”
Duong immigrated to Canada from his native Vietnam in Grade 8. He enjoys his new life, but admitted learning the language has been a challenge.
“Oh ya, it’s different,” he smiled. “In Vietnam I was a talkative person. I talked to everyone but when I came here my English was not too good so I didn’t communicate a lot. Grade 8 was good but Grade 9 was COVID so not a lot of people (were) around and I couldn’t communicate as much.”
Duong plans to major in economics and accounting at Wilfrid Laurier.
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