Day one of the MAXX North Harbour International 2025
For many, this is an event they return to year after year, and the competition continues to grow. Despite being early in the tournament, there were several close matches, near upsets and compelling victories.
Men’s Singles
Oceania champion, Jack Yu (AUS) faced Malaysia’s Kong Teck Joon. Despite taking an early lead, Yu found himself fighting to hold off Kong late in the first game. He won the game, but could not quite shake his opponent well into the second. Finally, a series of quick shots and smart decision making helped the Australian to win the match, winning 21-19, 21-18.
A good start to the tournament for Yu, today’s match was all about finding small wins and things to work on.
“I realised my advantage going towards driving and pushing from the front, so that’s what I’m going to take from today.” Yu said. “Also from what I need to learn and practice more, it’s my shot quality and choices of shot during the match.”
The top seeds all progressed to the next round without any qualms.
Mixed Doubles
There were several gutsy performances from New Zealand players in the first round of the mixed doubles.
First up, New Zealand Tour winners, Adam Jeffrey/Laura Lin played Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray/Lin Yen Yu. Between high quality shots and smart tactics, the Kiwi duo were poised to shake up the draw. However, The strength of their opponents eventually shone through, and despite their best efforts, Jeffrey and Lin fell short of progressing. The final score was 21-19, 21-16.
The young local stars of Raphael Deloy and Yanxi Liu (NZL) also threatened an upset in their match against Yu Hsun Kung and Jui-Yi Hsu (TPE). After going down in the first game, the Kiwi pair fought back to force a third game. Attack after attack, the youngsters refused to relent. Yet, the experience of their opponents shone through as they closed out the match 21-19, 17-21, 21-19.
Another three-game thriller came from Dylan Soedjasa and Justine VIllegas (NZL) against Hung Ming Chen and Yung Jung Chang (TPE). The pair from Chinese Taipei dominated the first game, taking a commanding win of 21-13. They looked ready to close out the match in two, but a surge from the Kiwis suggested otherwise. In a quick turn of events, Soedjasa and Villegas closed the gap and took the match to three games. In the third, it looked to be anyone’s game. Finally, it was the Chinese Taipei players that emerged victorious, winning 21-13, 16-21, 21-18.
