Cloverdale ball hockey player Gavin Pooni is returning from the 2019 World Junior Cup with gold.
The 15-year-old Salish Secondary student played for Team Canada West at the international tournament, held in the Czech Republic from June 27 to 30.
Gavin said it felt “amazing” to win gold.
“This is something that will stay close to me for the rest of my life,” he said.
“Not many people can say they won gold at a world championship. It’s a dream come true.”
Team Canada West faced off against teams from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Great Britain, as well as Team Canada East.
They were undefeated throughout the tournament, and their momentum carried them to the top.
The final match-up pitted the two Canadian teams against each other. “We were a little nervous going into the gold medal game,” said Gavin, “as we knew [Team Canada] East wanted to come out strong following the earlier defeat from us in the round robin stage.”
In the end, the West triumphed 8–6.
Gavin returns to Cloverdale briefly, and then it’s off to the next tournament — the Western Challenge Cup, taking place in Edmonton, Alta., July 11 to 13.
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