The University of Toronto Varsity Blues badminton team began the 2026 OUA Badminton Championship by sweeping their first two round robin matches with 9-1 wins over the Western Mustangs and McMaster Marauders on Friday, Mar. 6 at the U of T Athletic Centre.

U of T currently sit sin first-place in Pool A with the rebound robin set to resume tomorrow morning at the U of T Athletic Centre where Toronto takes on the TMU Bold at 9 a.m. Live stats are available here.
The Blues began their round robin play with a matinee against the Western Mustangs. Taking control of the match from the opening serve with two decisive victories before the Mustangs narrowed the margins in their matches.

"We knew Western was going to be a challenge," said third-year philosophy student Chloe Choi. "We were well prepared and kept our team spirit high."

Choi helped the Blue and White secure two points in doubles action, teaming with third-year commerce student Jackie Dent and third-year finance student Harold Tan. In singles action, first-year psychology student Asher Bedi was strong in his OUA championship debut, garnering 21-8 and 21-12 victories over Jackie Cai.Throughout their opening match, seven different Blues were able earn multiple wins for the Blues as they set the tone with a strong beginning to the weekend. Shifting over to their nightcap against McMaster, third-year Edmonton, Alta., native Joanna Xu was a force to be reckoned with. The materials science engineering student put up decisive 21-10 and 21-4 victories over Qinyan Zhang. Meanwhile, Bedi continued his strong Day 1, adding another point with a win over Rishi Subramani. McMaster was able to earn themselves a point late in the matches as Roger Sun and Chloe Wang securing a doubles win in a tightly contested contest.

Now turning their attention to their downtown Toronto rivals, U of T looks to continue to bring the energy on Day 2 of the OUA Championship. "We have to keep working as a team and lifting each other up in order to play our best," Choi said.