Fanshawe Badminton Wins OCAA Men’s Team Championship

(London, Ontario) – The Fanshawe Falcons men's badminton team delivered a championship winning performance from February 19-20 at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Badminton Championships. Having won silver and bronze in men's singles and silver in men's doubles the Falcons men's team finished atop of the leaderboard with 24 points, narrowly edging out Humber who finished with 23 points. The Falcons also delivered podium performances in both mixed doubles and women's doubles, taking bronze in both brackets.

Winning silver in men's singles for Fanshawe was Arpitraj Sinha (London, ON) who finished a perfect 7-0 in pool play without dropping a single set. Sinha continued his strong play throughout the playoff bracket before finding himself matched up against Humber's Tim Lock for the men's singles crown. While falling short of the gold medal, Sinha's silver medal performance earned him the right to compete at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Nationals hosted by the University of New Brunswick Saint John from March 3-7, 2026.

Also finishing with a silver medal was the men's doubles duo of Thao Le (Tillsonburg, ON) and Ty Nguyen (London, ON). The pair finished second in pool play with a 6-1 record, losing just two sets through the seven matches played. The two fell just short of a gold medal, falling to Seneca in the final match. For Nguyen, this marks his second consecutive men's doubles silver medal at OCAA Championships. Both Le and Nguyen will be joining their teammate Sinha for CCAA Nationals.

In men's singles, Fanshawe's Abhiram Nellikkattuparambil Girishkumar (India) earned a bronze medal. Finishing second in his pool with a 5-2 record, Girishkumar was outdueled by teammate Sinha for the right to represent for gold but managed to bounce back in the bronze match to not only claim the medal but secure crucial points that allowed the Falcons men's team to be named champions.

In women's doubles, the Falcons duo of Nicole Kim (Concord, ON) and Tilu Vaidya (London, ON) earned themselves a bronze medal. The two finished 3-3 in pool play before triumphing over Lambton to earn their spot on the podium. For Kim, she adds her second OCAA bronze medal to her collection having won mixed doubles bronze with Girishkumar last season.

In mixed doubles, the duo of Xinyu Niu (London, ON) and Suhail Muhammed (Cambridge, ON) managed to win a bronze medal for the Falcons. The two carried a 4-3 record through pool play before topping Cambrian in the bronze match.

Competing for the Falcons in women's singles was Samantha Darby (London, ON) and Rejoice Nwokedi (Nigeria). Both Darby and Nwokedi finished second in their pools, each sporting a 3-2 record. Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts, neither was able to claim a podium spot.

For tournament information, please visit: https://senecasting.ca/varsity/Championships/2026_OCAA_Badminton/index

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