Fitness was the common thread on opening day in Bendigo. Ken Richardson and Ephraim Stephen Sam both credited their conditioning after winning their men’s singles openers, while an defeat in the mixed doubles ended the tournament for two of Australia’s best.
Richardson controls Choo in straight games
Richardson defeated Malaysia’s Chung Li Eric Choo 21-13, 21-8. He put his form on the Oceania circuit this month down to belief and preparation: “Having confidence in myself, especially when it comes to my physical fitness. Just putting the work in and letting the results come.”
He is keeping the plan from his North Harbour win of using his fitness to wear opponents down. From his loss there, he wants to avoid simply matching his opponent’s pace and plans to speed the game up more often.
Stephen Sam fights back to defeat Gavois
Ephraim Stephen Sam recovered from a game down to defeat France’s Rafael Gavois 10-21, 21-19, 21-15. He said his confidence dropped sharply in the first game, so he worked on his self-talk: “I tried to tell myself in my head, ‘Come on, you can do it, even if you’re down.'”
He then began “to play a bit more free” in the second game.
The decider came down to stamina. Stephen Sam said has focused on his fitness for this month’s Oceania events because he used to tire after about 15 points, and while Gavois faded in the third game, the Australian had the strength to push through.
More Australians Advance in Men’s Singles
Four more Australians moved into the round of 32: Shrey Dhand, Ricky Tang, Karono Karono and Muhammad Rafi Zefran Ferary.
Dhand is the reigning Oceania men’s singles champion and also won the Oceania junior men’s singles title last year. He and Tang have both represented Australia at the Sudirman Cup. Karono and Ferary are both experienced, explosive players.
Mixed Doubles Results
Australians Jack Yu and Angela Yu, two of the country’s most formidable players, were knocked out by Chinese Taipei’s Lu Chen and Yun Jung Chang 21-14, 21-15.
New Zealand’s Daniel McMillan and Camellia Zhou advanced in the mixed doubles. Siblings Kai Chen Teoh and Bernice Teoh defeated New Zealand’s Dylan Soedjasa and Jenny Zhu 21-19, 21-12. The trans-Tasman pairing of Raphael Deloy and Sydney Tjonadi are through to the round of 16.
