Adam Dong

Biography

Adam Dong competed in his first Pan American Games at Santiago 2023 where he won men’s doubles gold with Nyl Yakura. They had been partners for less than two years after teaming up in late 2021. At that time, Dong was making a comeback after retiring from badminton several years earlier.

Dong had played with one of the top professional teams in China from 2006 until 2014, the year he moved to Canada to pursue his post-secondary education. He began representing Canada internationally in 2016, competing in men’s doubles with Yakura. But after achieving the number one doubles ranking in Canada, Dong decided to step away from competing to focus on raising and supporting his young family. In 2018, he founded the Lions Badminton Training Centre in Burlington, Ontario.

But he still had some dreams he wanted to realize. So, with the blessing of his family, he worked hard to regain his physical fitness. In December 2021, he and Yakura won their first tournament together, the Mexican International.

In 2022, Dong and Yakura won men’s doubles bronze at the Pan American Championships and competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. They upgraded themselves to gold at the Pan American Championships in 2023, a few months before competing at their first BWF World Championships together, which was followed by their triumph at Santiago 2023. Dong and Yakura were back on the podium at the Pan Am Championships in 2024, taking the silver medal.

A Little More About Adam

Getting into the Sport: Started playing badminton at age 6, the same year Zhang Jun, a player from his hometown of Suzhou, China won Olympic gold at Sydney 2000… By age 12 was selected to join a professional team in China… A right shoulder injury as a child forced him to learn to play badminton left-handed… Became champion of the China National Youth Games in 2011…  Outside Interests: Enjoys exploring cities while traveling for competitions… Graduated from Humber College with a diploma in Recreation and Leisure Services in 2017… Odds and Ends: Superstitions include wearing the same shirts in which he won previous tournaments and never shaving or getting a haircut on game day… Favourite motto: “This too shall pass”…