Day two at the YONEX North Harbour International 2019 delivered with world-class badminton, shock exits from some top seeded players and plenty of promising talent. With places in the quarter finals up for grabs, we are set for some fascinating matches on day three.
One of the biggest upsets of the day came from China’s Qiu Ziying, who overcame her first seed opponent from Vietnam, Thi Tang (B) Vu. The live-streamed game spanned over one hour and twenty-three minutes, with both players going the distance. Ziying eventually took the match against the player ranked 794 places higher than her:
- Qiu Ziying (CHN) vs Thi Trang (B) Vu (VIE) [1] 21-14 15-21 21-18
“Before the match I did a lot of study and watched her videos and tried to beat her with tactics and fitness to stay in the game with her” – Qui Ziying
“In the second I felt tired and lost my concentration but after the interval I tried to follow my coaches strategy and tried to pin her into different corners…I look forward to keep playing at the YONEX North Harbour International.” – Qui Ziying
In the mixed doubles, Australia’s Simon Wing Hang Leung and Gronya Somerville showed their dominance as first seeds and reigning regional Champions as they overcame New Zealand’s Edward Lau and Alyssa Tagle.
Meanwhile, the only other seeds in the mixed doubles to survive on day two were New Zealand’s Jonathan Curtin and Erena Calder-Hawkins who saw off the challenge from Jack Wang and Roanne Apalisok in two games. Both the second and third seeds stumbled on day three, missing out on a place in the quarter finals:
- Simon Wing Hang Leung/Gronya Somerville (AUS) [1] vs Edward Lau and Alyssa Tagle (NZL) 21-8 21-9
- Jonathan Curtin/Erena Calder-Hawkins (NZL) [4] vs Jack Wang/Roanne Apalisok (NZL) 21-19 21-11
- Xuheng Zhuanyi/Li Jiajia (CHN) vs Eveshgaran/Dharshinie VASIGARAN (MAS) [3] 22-20 21-12
- Runze Yan/Qin Jinjing (AUS) vs Maika Phillips/Anona Pak (NZL) [2] 21-15 19-21 21-13
In the men’s singles, the first seed from Vietnam proved why he is currently sat at number 64 in the world rankings. The thirty-six year old has previously won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships, and on day two at the tournament in Auckland, he kept complete composure and control throughout his match to win in two games:
- Tien Minh Nguyen (VIE) [1] vs Rio Agustino (AUS) 21-7 21-6
“I felt like the conditions were good today while I hope that I can still play better tomorrow and go on to win this tournament.” – Tien Minh Nguyen
The runner’s up from the recent VICTOR Oceania Individual Championships, Leung and Wheller, also eased into the quarter finals, alongside a handful on New Zealand pairing who survived day two of the championships:
- Simon Wing Hang Leung/Mitchell Wheller (AUS) [1] vs John Lin/Jeffrey Zheng (NZL) 21-8 21-11
- Oscar Lin/Evan Sun (NZL) vs Eli Nathan/Haoxuan Xia 16-21 21-13 21-18
- Dhanny Oud/Riga Oud (NZL) vs Ben Perkinson/Vincent Tao 19-21 21-16 21-16
In the women’s doubles, New Zealand second seeds Calder-Hawkins/Pak were knocked out of the competition by strong Chinese opponents. Meanwhile, their compatriots from New Zealand have secured at least one semi-final place with four out of the eight possible quarter-finals spots taken by the country’s pairs. China and Australia are the only two nations standing in their route to the podium, with two Chinese pairs and one Australian duo securing a quarter final spot on day two:
- Qiu Ziying/Wang Hui (CHN) vs Jasmin Chung Man Ng/Justine Villegas (NZL) 21-18 21-12
- Hou Fangfang/Li Jiajia (CHN) vs Erena Calder-Hawkins/Anona Pak [2] (NZL) 21-12 21-17
- Tiffany Ho/Jodee Vega (AUS) vs Sophie Li/Catelyn Rozario (NZL) 21-12 21-8
For all the results from day two of competition at the YONEX North Harbour International 2019 and to view the schedule for the quarter finals tomorrow, visit Tournament Software.
Court four will be live-streamed throughout the quarter-finals and semi-finals on day three – Saturday 23 March – available to watch here.
