With his bronze medal over the weekend, Luke Fennig, right, became the first NBCHS athlete to medal in male singles badminton at the provincial level since 1980. (submitted photo/Mark Kotchorek)

By Martin Martinson

Making his mark

Local badminton player places third in provincials

May 13, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Grade 11 student at North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS), Luke Fennig, is no ordinary student. The teenager added ‘provincial bronze medalist,’ to his credentials in singles badminton this weekend1.

With the podium finish, Fennig becomes NBCHS’ first male singles badminton player to medal at the provincial level since 1980.

“We knew we had a good shot with him to make it to provincials,” badminton coach Mark Kotchorek said. “He’s a dedicated player and works hard in practice.”

With still a year remaining in his high school career, Fennig has been a constant on the Comp’s badminton team all four years of his high school career thus far, and has taken part in the sport since his elementary school days at Battlefords Central School.

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Unlike other high school sports, such as volleyball and basketball where a tournament is likely to take place over the course of a weekend, badminton tournaments are played in just a single day.

Beginning his journey Apr. 10 with a successful showing at the conference playdowns, Fennig then made the cut as one of just two players to advance from conference play to districts on Apr. 13.

At districts, Fennig then again placed in the top two-of-eight to punch his ticket to regionals.

At regionals in Lloydminster May 4, the Battlefords’ product continued to set the pace, posting a 5-0 record over his five games on the day to advance to provincials May 11 in Swift Current. An achievement in its own right, provincials featured only the top eight players in Saskatchewan.

Ultimately of those final eight athletes, Fennig made it out of his pool in second place, before then moving on to a crossover match that saw him play the victor of the competing pool. Although defeated in the crossover tilt, Fennig bounced back quickly in the bronze medal contest to end the tournament with a bronze medal win.

Luke Fennig accepting his bronze medal following his podium finish at Provincials (Mark Kotchorek)

Badminton is a competitive sport within Saskatchewan, as Kotchorek estimates that there were nearly 900 boys registered in the province to compete in singles.

With Fennig’s top-three finish over the weekend, his coach is confident the success can only help both Fennig and his peers at the Comp. moving forward, as they have now seen first-hand the journey of what it takes to compete at the top of the sport.

“It’s a chess game on a court,” Kotchorek said. “It’s fast action, very tiring, and we tell [the students] it’s a marathon. It’s about who can stay in top shape mentally and physically to make it through the season and then go on to the playoffs. We’re hoping [Fennig’s] success just gives a little bit of a confidence builder for the rest of the players on the badminton team, that putting in the hard work is going to have positive results.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1