When all four of the squash courts at the Greater Manchester YMCA began disappearing as part of a renovation project, Mark Rynearson decided to take matters into his own hands. He had no idea he’d be introduced to a new sport in the process.

“Well, we were losing our squash courts to a new rock-climbing room, a gymnastics studio and some offices,” Rynearson said. “So when they were redoing the basketball court, I got them to put in some lines for badminton, too.”

Despite not knowing much about the sport eight years ago, Rynearson can now say he’s an Olympic badminton player.

The Goffstown resident, 54, began training with a professional badminton coach three winters ago. Joining him in his weekly training sessions is partner Marcia Morgan of Bedford.

The two recently swept the Mixed Doubles competition at the Harold Seavey Northeast Masters Open Badminton tournament on Dec. 3. The tournament took place at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

Morgan, who played competitively in high school, said she returned to the sport when she saw a sign, posted by Rynearson, at the YMCA.

Since then, the duo has drawn enough outside interest to host all-level matches on Monday evenings and competitive-level play on Sunday mornings.

Earlier this year, Rynearson traveled to Pittsburgh, Pa., to compete in the Senior Olympics.

“That was a blast, going to the Senior Olympics,” said Rynearson. “I have a men’s doubles partner that’s from Vermont, so he was with me. It was single-elimination and we made it through the consolation round. It was a lot of fun, the whole experience.”

Though Rynearson knew nothing of the sport before two friends showed him how to play on the YMCA’s basketball court, Morgan said her partner’s squash background helped him pick up the game.

“A common misconception is tennis and badminton are similar,” said Morgan. “The only similarity is they both use rackets. Squash and badminton are quite the same, though. They both use a lot of wrist action, and the pace of play is the same.”

Last July, Morgan and Rynearson showed off their skills at the U.S. Senior National tournament, which Rynearson described as “the real thing with real athletes.”

While the partners make their way through the badminton circuit, competing at various tournaments once every month or two, Rynearson said the goal is to foster interest in younger players.

“Kids especially can learn quick and develop their skills faster,” Rynearson said. “It would be nice to have some training at the high school or lower levels because the main problem is there’s no real breeding ground for the sport.”