Plenty of Oceania’s top players were in action throughout the afternoon at the Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open 2019. New Zealand’s Jasmin Ng and Justine Villegas are celebrating success in the women’s doubles while Australia’s Qin Jinjing when one better, having come through the qualifications to win her first round match against compatriot and Australia’s Olympian, Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen.
In the women’s doubles, there was a clash between two New Zealand pairs in the first-round of the main draw, and it was the Jasmin and Justine who came out on top after two closely fought games:
- Jasmin Chung Man Ng/Justine Villegas (NZL) vs Rebecca Hayley Fong/Stephanie Liao (NZL) 21-17 21-19
“Really happy with our win today! It’s always a little bit difficult playing someone you know but we went into the game with a plan and now feel really grateful to have the opportunity to play in the second round of such a high calibre tournament!” – Justine Villegas, New Zealand
Throughout the afternoon, several other New Zealand pairs faced tough competition from Asia, including the world number 24 pairing from China, Dong Wenjing and Feng Xueying:
- Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun (TPE) vs Roanne Apalisok/Janice Jiang (NZL) 21-9 21-11
- Dong Wenjing/Feng Xueying (CHN) vs Ella Smith/Jacqueline Yu (NZL) 21-2 21-7
Similarly, in the men’s doubles, New Zealand’s Maika Phillips and Dacmen Vong faced the Indonesian world number 46 pairing and Joshua Feng and Jack Jiang were up against the experienced world number 22 pair from India:
- Akbar Bintang Cahyono/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (IDN) vs Maika Phillips/Dacmen Vong (NZL) 21-12 21-9
“It was tough coming up against the experienced Indonesian pair. Dacmen and I are still a relatively new combination but we have been making some great progress over the recent competitions. We managed to execute certain facets of our game plan but struggled to maintain this throughout the match. It was encouraging that we had some success imposing our strengths on a pair of their calibre, but ultimately their experience proved tough to overcome as they were able to adapt and force us back into playing towards their strengths. All in all, it was a good learning experience and proof that we can compete at this level.” – Maika Phillips, New Zealand
“We went into the game with nothing to lose. We managed to stick to our game plan which worked for some of the match but struggled to keep up with their fast paced game. Overall it was definitely a good learning experience.” – Dacemn Vong, New Zealand
- Attri Manu/Reddy B.Sumeeth (IND) vs Joshua Feng/Jack Jiang (NZL) 21-7 21-10
“We went into the game with nothing to lose. We just tried to prepare as best we could and enjoy the game. Of course there will be a lot to take out the game and we will hope to use the experience in future competition.” – Josh Feng
The women’s singles saw another clash between Oceania players. Australia’s Qin Jinjing brings her experience from the recent YONEX Waikato International where she reached the final and carries her momentum through from the qualifying rounds here in Auckland to defeat her fellow compatriot and Olympian Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen. Meanwhile, Australia’s Louisa Mas was up against the world number 30 from Indonesia; despite putting up a good fight on the live-streamed court, the Indonesian ran away with the win over two games:
- Qin Jinjing (AUS) vs Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen (AUS) 21-17 21-12
- Fitriani Fitriani (IDN) vs Louisa Ma (AUS) 21-12 21-12
“We went into the game with nothing to lose. We just tried to prepare as best we could and enjoy the game. Of course there will be a lot to take out the game and we will hope to use the experience in future competition.” – Qin Jinjing, Australia
Following the two top seeded exits in the men’s singles this morning, another shock exit from the competition was from the men’s doubles sixth seeds from Chinese Taipei. Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng lost to Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi over 38 long minutes of badminton:
- Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi (MAS) vs Liao Min Chun/Su Ching Heng (TPE) [6] 21-16 21-13
Find out the schedule for day three and keep up to date with the latest results here.
