The quarterfinals at the VICTOR Oceania Championship opened with the mixed doubles this afternoon.
Top seeds Simon Wing Hang Leung and Gronya Somerville maintained their impressive run as they aim to defend their title from 2019. However, the second seeds from New Zealand, who are also in pursuit of Olympic qualification, suffered a shock exit as they went down in three close games.
Elsewhere in the draw, eighth seeds Dylan Soedjasa and Alyssa Tagle clawed their way back in the second and third games as they overcame the threat from Australia’s talented brother-and-sister combination to secure their spot in tomorrow’s semifinals.
They will be joined by fifth seeds (Raymond Tam and Jessica Lim).
- Simon Wing Hang Leung/Gronya Somerville (AUS) [1] vs Edward Lau Shaunna Li (NZL) 21-12 21-18
- Dylan Soedjasa/Alyssa Tagle (NZL) [8] vs Jack Yu/Angela Yu (AUS) 17-21 21-11 21-15
- Tran Hoang Pham/Sylvina Kurniawan (AUS) vs Oliver Leydon-Davis/Anona Pak (NZL)[2] 15-21 21-17 21-15
Meanwhile, Milain Lohith Ranasinghe put on a consistent performance to defeat the twelfth seed, Kai Chen Teoh, before Nathan Tang overcame his higher ranked opponent, seeded 13 to his 16, in two comfortable games – leaving him in good stead for tomorrow’s semifinals.
• Milain Lohith Ranasinghe (AUS) vs Kai Chen Teoh (AUS) [12] 21-16 21-15
• Nathan Tang (AUS) [16] vs Ying Xiang Lin (AUS) [13] 21-17 21-15
In the women’s singles, Australia’s Tiffany Ho narrowly escaped the threat posed by Oceania’s reigning junior champion, Shaunna Li of New Zealand, over three close games.
However, Australian underdog Sylvina Kurniawan stole the show as she claimed another spot in tomorrow’s semifinals, following a thrilling victory over New Zealand’s Sally Fu.
• Tiffany Ho (AUS) [4] vs Shaunna Li (NZL) [7] 18-21 21-14 21-18
• Sylvina Kurniawan (AUS) vs Sally Fu (NZL) [4] 21-17 25-23
BREAKING: Badminton New Zealand’s third seed, Sally Fu, is knocked out in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Badminton Australia’s Tiffany Ho recovers from one game down to see off the challenge from Oceania’s reigning junior champion ⬇️ Tiffany Ho 🇦🇺[4] vs Shaunna Li 🇳🇿[7] 18-21 21-14 21-18 Sylvina Kurniawan 🇦🇺 vs Sally Fu 🇳🇿[3] 21-17 25-23 All results ➡️ bit.ly/3buYO1q
Posted by Badminton Oceania on Monday, February 10, 2020
The men’s doubles opened with a major upset as the first seeds, Simon Wing Hang Leung and Mitchell Wheller, were ousted from the competition. Rio 2016 Olympians and four time Oceania champions, Mathew Chau and Sawan Serasinghe, showed every intention of uniting to chase their fifth title together as they smashed their way past the first seeds.
Furthermore, Nathan Tan and Peter Yan looked set to book their semifinal spot as they were fast out the blocks against the third seeds. However, a change of fate and an inspired comeback from Ying and Kai saved another shock exit.
• Matthew Chau/ Sawan Serasinghe (AUS) vs Simon Wing Hang Leung (AUS) [1] 21-13 21-15
• Ying Xiang Lin/ Kai Chen Teoh (AUS) [3] vs Nathan Tang/ Peter Yan (AUS) 21-16 20-22 21-15
Finally, Australia’s golden girls Gronya and Setyana showed why they are leading the charge in the current BWF Race to Tokyo rankings, as they overpowered New Zealand’s Shaunna Li and Anona Pak.
• Setyana Mapasa/Gronya Somerville (AUS)[1] vs Shaunna Li/Anona Pak (NZL) 21-13 21-4
As the results narrow down to the round of semifinals, keep up with the draw and follow all results on Tournament Software.
Courts one and two are also available to watch on the live stream, powered by OVO.
Join the conversation online using #VOC2020
