The SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024 will not disappoint with the Men’s Singles draw being anchored by Jonatan Christie (INA) and Kodai Naroaka (JAP) with world rankings of three and five respectively. Runner up in 2023, Prannoy H.S. is back and will once again look to stamp his mark on the tournament and improve his current world ranking of 10. Third seed Lee Zi Jia (MAL) is in form after recently winning the TOYOTA Thailand Open 2024 and runner-up at the PERODUA Malaysia Masters.
With no Oceania players in the main draw, they will have to work their way through a strong qualification stage. 2024 Oceania Championships Men’s Singles winner, Edward Lau (NZL) has a first-round match against Australian Ken Richardson.
The Women’s Singles draw is boosted in strength by the top shuttlers from Japan. Akane Yamaguchi with a world ranking of five and compatriot Aya Ohori, ranked 11 could meet in the final if their stars align. Ohori, who made the semifinals at the 2023 Australia Open will be hoping to go one better in 2024. Three Oceania women will feature in the main draw. 2024 Oceania Women’s Singles Champion Tiffany Ho will meet fellow Australian Sydney Tjonadi in the first round, while Kai Qi (Bernice) Teoh will only learn of her first-round opponent after the qualifying rounds.
The young Chinese pair of He Ji Ting & Ren Xiang Yu top the Men’s Doubles draw. With a recent win at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open and reaching the semifinals at the PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2024, they will be a duo to keep an eye on. But don’t discount the veterans of Indonesian Men’s Doubles, Hendra Setiawan & Mohammad Ahsan who sit in the second seed position. One of the first-round matches is an Oceania clash with the current Australian National Champions Rizky Hidayat & Frengky Wijaya Putra against the top New Zealand pair of Adam Jeffrey & Dylan Soedjasa.
Oceania Champions, Olympic athletes, and local talent Setyana Mapasa & Angela Yu are the number four seeds in the Women’s Doubles. This pair is coming off good overseas performances, most recently in the KFF Singapore Badminton Open 2024 where they went down fighting to the world number three and top seeds at this tournament, Japanese pair Matsuyama & Shida losing 21-18 in the third game.
In the Mixed Doubles the first time pairing of Edward Lau (NZL) & Gronya Somerville (AUS) will be tested in their first round against the seeded Chinese pair: Guo Xin Wa &Chen Fang Hui. Speaking of this new combination, Gronya says “ït was a very last-minute entry as my old mixed doubles partner decided to retire. It was the day of entries closing and I was messaging around to see who was available. Edward’s long term mixed doubles partner was not traveling to Sydney so it was a great option for us both, especially as he was runner up to us at the Oceania Championships.”
Another pair to look out for will be the Australian pair of Pramudya Kusumawardana &
Nozomi Shimizu. Nozomi is a former Japanese international player and Pramudya was formerly World number 11 in Men’s Doubles representing Indonesia where he was a member of their national team until earlier this year. Both Shimuzu and Kusumawardana now reside in Sydney, Australia.
Draws & Results & Information:
Photo Credit: Badminton Photo (Yves Lacroix)
