The toughest opponents for some of Oceania’s best on Day 2 in Bendigo were the players they know best. Early in the round of 32, Australians were pushed hard by fellow Australians. By the round of 16, a run of stronger international rivals had ended the singles hopes of four Oceania players.
Round of 32 matches were played in all five events, with the singles and mixed doubles round of 16 following.
Familiar faces, hard-won results
Oceania men’s singles champion Shrey Dhand (AUS) was taken to three games by fellow Australian Raphael Lydra before winning through. A week on from the MAXX North Harbour International, he was back in Bendigo with something to prove.
“I headed back home straight after my loss and tried to work on the things that didn’t work well in North Harbour,” he said. “They’re slowly starting to show here in Bendigo.”
Dhand was candid about where the match slipped. “My intensity was good, especially in the first and third set,” he said. “I loosened up quite a bit in the second set after winning the first, which is a common problem with me. Going back and fixing that is one of the things I’m going to do.”
In the women’s singles, Bernice Teoh (AUS) had to dig deep against fellow Australian Yuka Katagiri, her fitness and composure proving decisive. With the match tight, Teoh turned to a thought she had been carrying all year.
“When the points were really close, I reminded myself that I’ve done this before, I can do it again,” she said.
The shuttle was a different matter. “I struggled to control the shuttle speed a little bit during the first two sets,” she said. “I’m glad that I managed to control it a little bit better in the third.”
In the women’s doubles, Angela Yu and Camellia Zhou were calm and composed as they defeated Chinese Taipei’s Yun Jung Chang and Hung Hsin En 21-12, 21-17.
Gao stands out; Oceania singles hopes end
In the round of 16, Australia’s Rui Gao delivered one of the day’s best results, defeating India’s Kundu Garima 21-17, 21-13 in the women’s singles.
Elsewhere in the singles, the international field proved too strong. Teoh, Dhand, Muhammad Rafi Zafran Ferary and Karono Karono will not progress to the quarter-finals.
Owen’s long day, and a banana
No player faced a longer day than Michael Owen, who progressed in both the mixed and men’s doubles and will be back on court twice on day three.
His mixed doubles round of 16 was brisk. With Gronya Somerville, he defeated fellow Australians Roshan Rajkumar and Shrilalitha Supriya Yellapragada 21-14, 21-11.
The men’s doubles round of 32 was the opposite. Partnering Jack Yu against Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Tzu Chieh and Lu Chen, Owen was pulled through a match with two games running past 21, one that raised the heart rates of players, coaches and supporters alike. Owen and Yu won 21-16, 21-23, 24-22.
Owen and Yu went in knowing what was at stake.
“Before the game, we just thought, hey, we can fight,” Owen said. “We want to win, because if we win we have a chance to make the semi-final.”
The opening game went their way, and they led 11-7 in the second before rushing for the finish and losing it, Owen said.
Yu offered some context. “We’ve only just started this year,” he said. “We’ve played four tournaments, and this one is our fifth. We just want to do our best and hopefully push up to higher tournaments.” He added that their chemistry is improving.
As for whether a banana at the interval in the third game made the difference, the pair were happy to give it some credit. They said they were hungry and had brought one along.
Champions reset in Bendigo
Nozomi Shimizu and Andika Ramadiansyah moved safely into the next round of the mixed doubles, defeating the Australian-Canadian duo of Rayne Wang and Josephine Wu 21-10, 21-14. The win came a week after the pair claimed their first title together at the MAXX North Harbour International.
A first title brings its own questions, and Ramadiansyah had an answer ready.
“Once we became champions, our motivation went up and our confidence went up too,” he said. “But we need to reset after a title. The next day, we need to start from zero again, focus again and try to get better and better.”
Playing in Australia, Shimizu said, has its own appeal, with more friends able to make the trip. They weren’t in the stands for the opener, but she is hoping they will be cheering the pair on later in the week.
Seeds hold firm
Among the non-Oceania players, last year’s runner-up Niina Matsuta is through to the women’s singles quarter-finals after a 21-17, 21-12 win over India’s Aneri Kotak. Top seed and last week’s champion Tung Ciou-Tong joined her with a decisive 21-10, 21-9 win over compatriot Jui-Yi Hsu.
In the men’s singles, top seed Wang Po-Wei advanced after defeating Australia’s Muhammad Rafi Zafran Ferary 13-21, 21-16, 21-13 over 74 minutes.
