Huskies rookie had a big season, capped with a silver medal in national tournament

Make room for one more.

The trophy case at Yuge (Ace) Zeng’s place is getting quite crowded these days. The George Brown College (GBC) badminton standout has been named best men’s student athlete in The Dialog’s Readers Choice Awards. 

The rookie made an immediate impact in men’s singles play, earning Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) male badminton player of the year honours on the way to capturing a provincial gold medal. A key piece of the Huskies historic season on the courts, the 18-year-old topped it off by winning a silver medal at the national championship. 

For someone with many accolades this year, Zeng was surprised and quite appreciative of the reader’s choice acknowledgement.

“I feel so glad that I have been voted for this and thanks for all the support,” said Zeng. “They saw my effort so I say thank you to them.” 

With the Huskies capturing both the OCAA men’s and women’s team titles for the first time, there is plenty of recognition to go around. For Zeng, who had not lost a match all season until the national championship tournament, the silver medal leaves him wanting a little more.

“This year was pretty good, not bad, but I can’t say perfect,” Zeng said. “I’m pretty happy that I got the silver in nationals for our school and I’m going to put even more effort into our badminton program and do my best to win the gold next year, no matter what.”