It was heartbreak for Australia this evening as the 23rd and 24th play off against Switzerland went down to the very last point.
The regional Champions from Australia opened proceedings against the world no. 86 pairing, to their 98. The swiss duo were quick to take control and gave Switzerland an early lead with a convincing win.
Oliver Schaller/Celine Burkart (SUI) vs Simon Wing Hang Leung/Gronya Somerville (AUS) 21-12 21-10
However, Louisa Ma was quick to restore balance for the Australian team. Having won her two previous women’s singles games, Ma continued her impressive run on her debut appearance and defeated the higher-ranked Swiss shuttler, Ronja Stern, currently ranked 160 to Louisa’s 190.
Louisa Ma (AUS) vs Ronja Stern (SUI) 22-20 20-22 21-15
“To win against someone that is ranked higher than you gives you extra confidence in knowing that you can compete…I will leave this event feeling a lot more positive “ – Louisa Ma
The men’s singles opened with a thrilling contest, with barely any more than three points ever separating the pair. However, Gobinathan wasn’t able to capitalise on any of the four match point opportunities, leaving Kirchmayr to take the first game 25-23. The Swiss player then marched through the second game, leading at 11-3 and racing through to give Switzerland the edge.
Christian Kirchmayr (SUI) vs Ashwant Gobinathan (AUS) 25-23 21-8
Australia’s reigning regional champions waltzed on to court as the overwhelming favourites, against Switzerland’s scratch pairing Sabrina Jaquet and Jenjira Stadelmann. The Australian’s showed no mercy throughout the entire game and brought the score back level.
Setyana Mapasa/Gronya Somerville (AUS) vs Sabrina Jaquet/Jenjira Stadelmann (SUI) 21-8 21-14
“We played really well, it was a good game for us“ – Setyana Mapasa
“Her trick shots were great, she was hitting them everywhere and coming in to finish them off“ – Gronya Somerville
With two games apiece, it looked like Sawan Serasinghe and Eric Vuong had it in the bag for Australia after leading throughout the deciding game. However, Swiss competitors Tobias Kuenzi and Oliver Schaller found their second wind to bring it back level and won the game on their second match point 22-20.
Tobias Kuenzi/Oliver Schaller (SUI) vs Sawan Serasinghe/Eric Vuong (AUS) 21-17 17-21 22-20
“It’s a very different game when you’re playing in a massive hall. With so many fans and noise everywhere. For us, it was just learning from each game and add it to our repertoire and take it on to the next part of our career“ – Eric Vuong
Australia finished in 24th position at the TOTAL BWF Sudirman Cup 2019.
View all the draws, results and overall standings on the official event website.
