‘The dream is over’ is what I said when I shook hand with my opponent Vlastimil Kolar (CZE). If I had played better and reversed the score in badminton, I would have made it to the semi-finals of that category. And maybe my next opponent could have injured himself or simply dropped dead during our match. We never know with those guys above 45 years old. What a great tournament it was! Even before the event, I could feel so much excitement. We received our Team Canada tracksuits just on time and they looked great. I was receiving best wishes from family, friends and colleagues. I had some concerns. For more than one week before the world championships, I was surrounded what appeared to be the H1N1 and anyone catching it would have had to withdraw from the tournament. Racketlon Team Canada About our team, it was a great team composed of Marie-Hélène Bédard, Jeremy Easterbrook, Horatio Pintea and me Dany Lessard. The spirit was excellent. We were coaching and encouraging each other and were all proud of representing Canada and be part of that first ever Canadian Team in Racketlon. We tried hard to get a first win for Canada. It was a great experience and other players should have the chance of living it in the upcoming years. We should have stopped the clock for a while and written on the first page of LaPresse or the Gazette ‘Canada takes the lead against Sweden at the Racketlon World Championships, with a strong performance in Table Tennis’. But they were strong in all other sports and had no more concerns after the squash. But we had a much better chance of winning against Switzerland. We were much into these matches and knew it would be close. It ended up with 5 points difference in their favour. Each of us could think of a few points that would have made a difference, but we had tried our best and could only be proud. It was really enjoyable to be involved in a close team match. Canada's men team This year I was team captain selected by the players. It was an honour and an easy job. Being only four, the selection of the players for each match was automatic. And the order of the players was also automatic based on individual world rankings. The dream is not over. To reach a podium sounds to me like an excellent dream. Staying healthy and practicing a sport that we love is a modest goal. Getting better can be fun. Becoming the best is a challenge. Pick up your rackets; I will see you on the courts. Dany Lessard Team Canada Captain Nov. 26, 2009
