Pictured: Louisa Ma (Australia). Photo credit: Ballarat Badminton
Team Australia double booked their TOTAL BWF Thomas and Uber 2020 Finals appearance as the women joined the men in defeating New Zealand during today’s women’s team final.
Both finals panned out in a similar pattern, with a series of tense opening singles matches, before the doubles decided the outcome.
Meanwhile, New Caledonia will join the team on the podium as they overpowered their Tahitian opponents to claim the bronze medal following an emphatic 5-0 victory.
Women’s team – Gold medal match
Opening with a thrilling singles match, where both games went to extension, Oceania’s six-time women’s singles champion was pushed to the edge by New Zealand’s Sally Fu. Being the fifth time that the pair have met, the game was their closest encounter yet. Ultimately, Chen was able to extend her unbeaten record.
A similar encounter occurred in the second tie, as New Zealand’s Shaunna Li came out strong against Wednesday’s other women’s singles finalist, Louisa Ma. Unfortunately, Li wasn’t able to convert her three match point opportunities as she lead 20-17 in the second game, allowing Ma to make an incredible comeback which saw her through to the end.
Catelyn Rozario managed to keep the dream alive for New Zealand, as she beat her higher ranked opponent from Australia in two close games.
However, the experimental split of their top pairs paid off as Setyana Mapasa teamed up with Sylvina Kurniawan to secure gold and the team’s spot in the TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2020 Finals.
- Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen (AUS) vs Sally Fu (NZL) 26-24 28-26
- Louisa Ma (AUS) vs Shaunna Li (NZL) 13-21 22-20 21-15
- Catelyn Rozario (NZL) vs Tiffany Ho (AUS) 21-18 21-19
- Sylvina Kurniawan/Setyana Mapasa (AUS) vs Erena Calder-Hawkins/Anona Pak (NZL) 21-11 21-14
- Gronya Somerville/Angela Yu (AUS) vs Sally Fu/Alyssa Tagle (NZL) 21-15 21-17
Women’s team – bronze medal match
The gold medalist from the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, Dgenyva Matauli, got New Caledonia off to a winning start against their Pacific rivals. Despite Tau’s comeback in the second game, it was too little, too late as Matauli’s powerful strokes raced her through to the finish line.
New Caledonia continued to show their strength in women’s singles as they added to their tally. Johanna Kou and Cecilia Moussy repeated Matauli’s success to take the team to a decisive 3-0 lead to guarantee the bronze medal.
- Dgenyva Matauli (NCL) vs Esther Tau (TAH) 21-9 21-16
- Johanna Kou (NCL) vs Méiissa Mi You (TAH) 21-16 21-17
- Cecilia Moussy (NCL) vs Jenica Lesourd (TAH) 21-16 21-13
- Dgenyva Matauli/Julie Wongsodjirono (NCL) vs Méiissa Mi You/Nina Smits (TAH) 23-21 14-21 21-19
- Johanna Kou/Cecilia Moussy (NCL) vs Maeva Gaillard/Esther Tau (TAH) 21-15 21-9
Check out all results and statistics on Tournament Software.
