Jarin Davison and Courtney Anderson had to win Thursday afternoon at the North American Indigenous Games to guarantee themselves a mixed doubles badminton medal.
They didn't get what they were after on the court but they're still on a path to the podium.
The Prince George tandem will play for bronze today after losing a seesaw battle in their semifinal match, 22-20, 22-20, to Santanna Bill and Curtis Hallett of Saskatchewan.
"It was a close match, I liked that there was constant communication between us, we both played our hearts out," said an exhausted Anderson, who will also play for bronze today in the U-16 singles and women's doubles events.
Anderson/Davison will face Dylan Anderson and Mandy Lucy of Newfoundland/Labrador in the bronze-medal match today at 10 a.m. PDT. Davison/Anderson advanced to the semifinals with a straight-set 21-16, 21-11 quarterfinal victory over Karla McKenzie/Jonathan Napish, representing the Eastern Door and the North team based in Kahnawake, Que. It was one of five matches Anderson played Thursday and she was exhausted as she left the court for the day.
Anderson lost her U-16 women's singles semifinal, 18-25, 21-11, 21-15, to Megan Farell of Saskatchewan. Anderson, who went 2-1 in the round-robin, started the day with a quarterfinal 21-14, 21-11 win against Minda Mannuk of Nunavet. Anderson will play for U-16 singles bronze against Bill today at 12:30 p.m. PDT.
"I'm amazed with myself because normally I don't do that great in singles, so to make it to the finals is shocking to me," Anderson said. "The semifinal was a really tough game. Both of us were equally matched and in the end it depended on endurance and she got the best of me on that. We had some long rallies, which really tire you out.
"You are entitled to a half-hour break between each match but even then you come off the court after playing super hard and a half an hour isn't enough to get your energy back, especially after playing all week as well."
Anderson and her female doubles partner Julia Bood of Comox will play for bronze today after they lost a three-set semifinal, 21-14, 20-22, 21-10, to Mannuk and Megan Dialla of Iqaluit. Bood is new to badminton and Anderson says she has to cover more of the court herself, but that strategy has worked well for them. They face Alyssa Bernard and Mackenzie Thomas of P.E.I. in the bronze-medal match today at 11:30 a.m. PDT.
Davison went 3-1 in the U-16 boys singles round-robin but lost in straight sets in a quarterfinal playoff, 21-14, 21-11, to Taylor Whitehead of Ontario. Davison and his male doubles partner, Logan Bood of Comox, also a badminton rookie, went 0-3 in the preliminary round.
While he's happy to be playing for a medal with Anderson, Davison was disappointed with his singles performance Thursday.
"I didn't play good at all," said Davison. "I just didn't have the mental piece of it and got frustrated with myself because I couldn't make any shots."
But the chemistry is obvious on the court between Davison and Anderson, who have known each other for seven years, and they've proven a formidable team in Regina.
"It's actually great because I know [Anderson] well and can play with her, it's just the best thing that could possibly happen," Davison said. "I think we can pull it off in the bronze medal game."
The Games have attracted 4,500 athletes competing in 14 sports in Regina. Davison and Anderson hope to take in some of the other events once the badminton competition ends.
