Vancouver, BC, February 8, 2014 - David Snider, a 4-time Manitoba Singles Champion has unexpectedly won his 3rd National Men's Singles Title at the age of 25 by defeating Ottawa's Stephane Wojcikiewicz, 13-21, 21-6 & 21-8 in the final at the National Championships, held at Vancouver Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club (VLTBC).
Above: Snider pleases the crowd with a victory back flip, the same way he finished his first national title at the age of 19
David Snider, 2008 Pan Am Championships Men's Singles Champion, took a break from badminton 2 years ago in order to focus on getting into med school. Now that he's taken all the necessary courses and tests and he's simply playing the waiting game to try and get into Med School at University of Manitoba in the fall of 2014, why not pick up badminton again? Well that's exactly what he's done and he couldn't have done it with more class or grit!
Snider is well known around Canada and the world for his gritty fitness based-playing style, and when you combine it with the right shots, angles and tempo, he's a deep force to be reckoned with. He's got a heart for hard work and determination - while he is doing due diligence to get into med school, Snider picked up long-distance running because it could challenge him physically while working within his schedule and budget. In his first marathon attempt. Snider placed 4th in the 2012 Manitoba Marathon, running 2:35:35 - faster than all but 2 relay teams! He is still training for marathons and half-marathons, however he's included badminton into his training for the last couple months in order to prepare for the National Championships.
This year's Road to Success:
In Snider's first tournament back after 2 years away from the sport, he placed 2nd in the Yonex Prairie Senior Elite held at the Winnipeg Winter Club, a national level tournament held by Badminton Manitoba. Next up he attended the Yonex Toronto Open and was knocked out in the quarter-finals by the eventual Men's Singles Runner-Up, and as they say, you learn more from losses than you do from wins. One can assume this was the case with the Toronto Open because David Snider, and the rest of Canada's players' next tournament was the National Championships.
Snider Had a tough 1st round match against Ontario's Him (Andy) Lam, but he eventually won in 3 games, 17-21, 21-8, 21-11. This type of a match would be foreshadowing of things to come. The typical fast-paced offense minded Snider was taking a more relaxed long-term approach to the games.
Snider played fellow Manitoba athlete and Badminton Manitoba's Executive Director Ryan Giesbrecht in the Round of 16. Risking a potential loss of funding and a severe written scolding from MBA's Executive Director, Snider still went ahead took the match 21-15, 21-9 - sources say that no punishments were handed out, only high fives.
After splitting the first 2 games in the Quarters against Ontario's Joseph Rogers, Snider was up 20-18 in the third but quickly saw the score even up at 20-all. Joseph Rogers then missing the sideline by a hair on a big smash, and then putting the bird out the side on the next long rally gave Snider the Semi-Finals birth he was hoping for.
The Semi's was a re-match of the 2010 semi-finals when Snider lost to Alex Pang of Alberta in 3 games. Snider's game seemed to evolve from the first couple rounds and the level of badminton had been raised to awe-inspiring level. The length of rallies extended from 10-40 shots at a time. Although the scores don't reflect a tight game, Snider edged out Pang 21-16 21-10 to move on to the finals!
With a large crowd watching the finals, Stephane Wojcikiewicz neutralized Snider's offense and came away with the first game win, 21-13. However this came with a bit of a cost as Stephane was looking a little bit slower, something that Snider wasn't feeling in the least. Once again rallies were 10-40 shots long and the swing of momentum changed several times within a rally - each rally however typically ending with Snider winning with a dazzling drop shot or smash winner. He had his game elevating as the match went on and there was nothing Stephane could seemingly do to stop him. Snider would go on to take the next two games and the Championship with a final score of 13-21, 21-6, 21-8.
Where will Snider go from here? Will we see him on the courts next year? Or will he be enthralled in med school? Either way, the 2014 Singles Champion has once again done Manitoba proud and made a big mark on the national badminton scene.
Above: Medalists Stephane (ONT - Silver), Snider (MB - Gold) & Pang (AB - Bronze)