RISING STARS FROM NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA TAKE HOME GOLD AT THE VICTOR OCEANIA JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019
The talented youngsters from New Zealand and Australia dominated the later stages of the draws at the VICTOR Oceania Junior Individual Championships 2019. With four out of five of today’s matches going to three ends, all of the players displayed phenomenal racket skills and resilience which indicates a bright future for badminton in the region.
New Zealand’s Edward Lau was the first on court at midday. The second seed piled on the pressure over twenty-four minutes to defeat his regular training partner and compatriot in two games.
“I was really happy with my performance. We train together so I we know each other’s game. I attacked a lot and kept the pressure on my opponent.” – Edward Lau, New Zealand.
| Winner | Runner-up | Score | |
| Men’s singles |
Edward Lau [2] NZL |
Joshua Feng [6] NZL |
21-5 21-10 |
In the women’s singles, Shaunna Li lived up to her first seed expectation after facing her home rival Roanne Apalisok. Competing in her first Oceania Junior event, Li did not seem phased by the regional stage and kept her cool over three games to take the women’s singles trophy home to New Zealand.
“I’m happy with the result. I knew it would be a tough match as we’ve played each other many time. This is my first time playing Oceania Juniors, so it’s a big deal for me.” – Shaunna Li, New Zealand.
| Women’s singles |
Shaunna Li [1] NZL |
Roanne Apalisok [4] NZL |
21-10 19-21 21-15 |
New Zealand’s singles champions later paired up to play for gold in the mixed doubles too. However, Australian brother and sister combination, Jack and Angela Yu, put on a sterling display of badminton over three close games to seal the deal. The sibling pair are following in the footsteps of their parents, who celebrated an illustrious career with the Chinese national badminton team in the nineties and early two-thousands.
“We are really happy that we won. We worked really well together and encouraged each other.” – Jack Yu, Australia.
“It felt like we started to give up in the second set, but we managed to come back and win the attack.” – Angela Yu, Australia.
| Mixed doubles |
Jack Yu/ Angela Yu AUS |
Edward Lau/ Shaunna Li [2] NZL |
21-17 19-21 21-16 |
Angela Yu is celebrating two gold medals from the Junior Individual Championships after pairing up with Kaitlyn Ea in the women’s doubles too. The pair weren’t intimidated by their slightly older opponents from Australia, Majan Almazan and Kelly Xu, and went on to take the gold medal after three long games.
“I think that we worked well together in today’s match and played to our strengths. We remained calm throughout the game which helped us to win.” – Kaitlyn Ea, Australia.
| Women’s doubles |
Kaitlyn Ea/ Angela Yu AUS |
Majan Almazan/ Kelly Xu [4] AUS |
15-21 21-13 21-16 |
Finally, New Zealand’s Ryan Tong and Jack Wang were elated to win the men’s doubles title after three incredibly close games. The pair didn’t let the status of second seeds distract them against the unseeded Australian duo of Ricky Tang and Otto Xing De Zhao.
“We were good in the mid-court and kept relaxed today which helped us to perform under pressure.” – Jack Wang, New Zealand.
“I wasn’t expecting too much and I was nervous but I’m really happy to get the win.” – Ryan Tong, New Zealand.
| Men’s doubles |
Ryan Tong/ Jack Wang [2] NZL |
Ricky Tang/ Otto Xing De Zhao AUS |
19-21 21-15 21-1 |
