My name is Asher Bedi. I am an 18 year old member of the Junior Canadian National Badminton Team. I train at E Badminton Training Centre in Markham, Ontario under the guidance of head coach Efendi Wijaya and his incredible coaching team. I have qualified to represent Canada in the Junior Pan Am Championship Tournament five times earning gold in singles for the last two years (2024 – U19, 2023 – U17). My dream is to continue competing and fighting to show what Canada can do on the world stage!

I first picked up a racket with my parents at their recreational games and it wasn’t until I was ten that I started training seriously in badminton. At my first tournament, my parents were concerned that I wouldn’t even be able to count the score properly! In 2019 I qualified for my first Junior Pan Am Championship tournament competing in U13 Singles. This came as a bit of a surprise as I was competing against players that had been training for a lot longer. This really showed me the value of working hard and inspired me to train even harder. I really couldn’t achieve what I did without the incredible support of my teammates, coaches and parents.

The next step in my journey is to return to the Junior Pan Am Championships held in Guatemala this year. I will be competing in Doubles and defending my U19 Singles Gold medal at this event. But the path doesn’t end there as I’m already targeting other open and international tournaments over the summer months. I am typically training six days a week, balancing my time against school commitments, to compete at my best.

Now that I am no longer a junior player, I need to compete in a lot more international tournaments. It is the only way to qualify for higher tournaments like the Olympics. This means the expenses related to travelling are about to get dramatically higher. My parents have been my biggest supporters, cheering me on in the tournaments, and in dealing with all the costs of competing. While I will always have their faith and encouragement behind me, I worry about the huge financial cost of achieving my dream.

Badminton is not a huge sport in Canada and receives very little funding. Athletes are responsible for all of the associated costs including flights, hotels, food, and other tournament expenses. As we are self funded, all of these costs can really add up and be a heavy burden for families to deal with. The goal of this Go Fund Me Campaign is to help fund my journey, training and competing in tournaments around the world, for a chance to achieve my dream and proudly compete for Canada in the Olympic Games.

I would be honoured and grateful for everyone willing to join and support me. I will work hard to make you all proud!