Joey Payeur
Aaron Bujold’s latest smash hit was pure gold.
The Grade 10 member of the Muskie badminton team handily defended his senior boys’ singles crown by winning all four of his matches via two-game sweeps at the NorWOSSA finals last Wednesday in Atikokan.
But today’s NWOSSAA championships in Dryden and the road beyond now are the focus for the still junior-aged Bujold, who again will square off against a group of all older players as he looks to improve on his silver-medal finish from last season.
“The goal now is to win four or five out of six [today],” said Bujold, who can advance to his second-straight OFSAA championship (slated for May 5-7) in North Bay if he lands in the top two at Dryden.
“OFSAA is now the goal but I’m not there yet,” he conceded.
“I’ve got to keep going.”
Bujold matched up with Muskie teammate Jacob Jack in his opening match last Wednesday, winning 21-10 and 21-11.
After dispatching a Kenora foe 21-6/21-6, Bujold then barely broke a sweat in dispatching Andrew Neil (Kenora Broncos) 21-5/21-6.
With an NWOSSAA berth already in his grasp, Bujold then polished off Grant Legaree (Atikokan Voyageurs) 21-5/21-16 in a battle of unbeatens to lock up the gold medal.
Legaree wound up with silver and the other berth at NWOSSAA.
“I played good all day and just played my game,” noted Bujold.
“There was no real improvement anywhere in my game from the previous week.
“My goal was to go undefeated,” he added. “That’s what I wanted to do and I did it.
“I knew how to play better and how to get ready better after the previous week.”
Bujold is certain who will provide the greatest challenge to his bid for NWOSSAA gold in Dryden—the same person who kept him off the top step last year, defending champ Yamhi Malhi (Thunder Bay).
“He does have age on me,” Bujold said about his Grade 12 competitor.
“He’s played a little longer than me and while I’ve improved since last year, I’m sure he has, too,” he added.
“It’s Round 2.”
Muskie coach Brian Church said Bujold and Malhi are far from strangers.
“They’re good friends and get along well,” he noted.
“Last year, they were taking pictures of each other with their medals and they know each other from club play.
“I’m expecting Aaron will do fine but we don’t know yet who’s coming from other zones,” Church added.
“There could be an up-and-comer we haven’t seen.
“But Aaron’s definitely looking for revenge against [Malhi],” he chuckled.
Bujold has been paying extra attention to brushing up on his service game.
“My serve’s been good and I have chosen to focus on that,” he remarked.
“It all starts from there,” he stressed. “The serve sets up the whole point.”
As for Jack, his fourth-place finish with a 1-3 record last Wednesday was an imperfect ending to his terrific comeback story after not having played competitively for four years since he was a Grade 9 rookie on the team.
Following the loss to Bujold, Jack fell to Legaree (no score available).
He then split his final two matches with Kenora opponents.
