9am Session
Women’s Team Event
New Zealand were not at full strength going into the team final against Australia, due to players being unavailable. With the winner having the opportunity to play at the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 in China later this year, New Zealand did put up a great fight against the very talented filled Australian women’s team. After an exciting first up women’s singles which went to extension in the second game, Australia took the 1-0 lead.
The two women’s doubles matches, filled with potential Olympic Games players, produced convincing wins for the host country, however the final singles match brought the crowd alive. Up against Junior Falcon Sydney Tjonadi, 14-year-old Yanxi Liu turned her first game loss around to win the second in style. Starting the third with confidence, Liu had a good run of points, keeping Tjonadi frustrated at times. With the luck of the net for Tjonadi, the tide turned, and the match was won in extension to Australia. Final tie score: 5-0.
Tahiti were in the box seat going into their final tie at the VICTOR Oceania Men’s & Women’s Team Championships. Looking for the bronze medal to take back to their beautiful island, it was the Cook Island women who stood in their way. The Tahitians started strong with their singles and did not let their guard down, making it a clean sweep and only losing one game. Final tie score: 5-0 and the bronze medal.
Nicolas Mouret, President of Tahiti Badminton Federation commented “It was a surprise was our girls. We worked for two years with them for this tournament. They were not sure they wanted to do after this event, but with the win it has motivated them to continue”.
U17 Invitational Team Challenge
Guam and Northern Marianas both had 3-2 wins this morning in the ties against Fiji and New Caledonia respectively. These four teams were playing off for the minor placings with Northern Marianas securing the bronze medal. Having attended the u17 development camp plus competing in the Pacific u17 Team Challenge, the pathways for these young players are available to progress their badminton journeys.
1pm Session
Men’s Team Event
With the opportunity to play at the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 later this year in China, the atmosphere was electric and supporters vocal as the hosts, Australia took on trans-tasman rivals, New Zealand. Unavailable players were noticeable by their absence within the New Zealand team, which may have strengthened their chance of a championship win. With the first match going to three games and exceeding 55 minutes, a long and competitive afternoon was on the cards. First match win to New Zealand’s Ricky Cheng 21-15 14-21 21-19. Unfortunately, this was the only win that New Zealand would get, going down 4-1. There was a glimmer of hope in both men’s doubles as the Kiwi men took the number one doubles to three games and only lost the second in an extension game that went to 27-25. Opportunities were not taken, and Australia take gold.
CEO of Badminton Australia, TJ Weistra speaks of the double win for Australia. “The two wins were the goal for the week. New Zealand fought really hard, especially in the men’s tie with some close matches. There is a reason why we keep that AUS/NZL rivalry going as much as we can. It’s always been there, and it lifts the standards of everybody.”
“We look forward to China now (BWF TotalEnergies Thomas & Uber Team Finals) but Olympic qualifying continues first with many of the team flying out to Uganda tonight.”
Tahiti were hungry for a win in the bronze medal tie against Cook Islands, who are competing for the first time in the men’s team championships.
“Putting in a men’s team and getting here is an achievement. To do as well as we did was even better. It shows that the hard work is paying off because we did better than expected,” said Thomas
Taking an early two match lead, Tahiti did not relinquish it as they powered through the first three matches before Antoine Beaubois (TAH) withdrew from the number one men’s doubles due to injury. As Tahiti had already secured the bronze medal, it was pride on the line for the last men’s doubles match. It did not disappoint with the match playing out over three energetic games to finish the competition.
Nicolas Mouret said “we were happy with what we were able to show because we didn’t have Remi Rossi this time. Who knows what we could have achieved if he was playing. We will know plan and train for next Oceania Championships.”
U17 Invitational Team Challenge
On the line in the u17 team challenge tie was the glory of a bronze medal. Playing against Tahiti, the Cook Islands came away with the first win in the mixed doubles. Tahiti then fought back as Ethan Wolf-Micas won the men’s singles to even the score. Te Pa Tupa had an outstanding win in the women’s singles to take the Cooks ahead once again. But the Tahitians were not done, creating the most exciting men’s doubles result to keep the tie alive. The fifth and final match was a thriller, sending the hovering crowd into raptures as Tahiti wins the match and gold medal.
“We had done the work leading into this tournament. We had a goal for our u17 team to win gold and our hard work paid off” said Nicolas Mouret, President of Tahiti Badminton Federation.
Thomas Merana-Ngauru, President of Badminton Cook Islands said “It was heartbreak for the juniors. We would have loved to take Tahiti down. Sometimes its hard to gauge how well we are doing until we come to a tournament like this and see the positive results”.
VICTOR Oceania Men’s & Women’s Team Championships Draws & Results
U17 Invitational Team Challenge Draws & Results
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- Women’s Podium
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- Pacific u17 Podium
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- Men’s Podium
