It was a very proud moment when the three words “love, all, play” were spoken this morning to kick off Day 1 of the MAXX North Harbour International.
It had been nearly 21 months since a match had been played at the venue due to the devastating damage caused by floods in back 2023, but now it’s back in full swing.
Women’s Singles:
Bernice Teoh [AUS] started her week in Auckland with a challenging victory over fellow Oceania player Jenny Zhu [NZL] in what was a thrilling match early in the day.
Teoh, a member of the Australian National Team, took the first game 21-16, but then in the second Zhu responded by putting the Aussie to the test.
At one stage Zhu had game point to potentially push the match out to three, however, Teoh managed to take back the lead and seal the game 22-20.
Here’s what Teoh said after the match:
“I’d never played Jenny before; she was a very tough competitor.
“She managed to return everything which became frustrating, she played well. Looking ahead to the rest of the week I will focus on improving my defence and executing the simple shots instead of over complicating.”
Teoh will also be competing in the Women’s Doubles on Thursday with fellow Australian National Team member Dania Nugroho.
Men’s Singles:
After being eliminated in the Men’s Singles Quarter Finals last week at the Roketto Sydney International, North Harbour’s own Edward Lau [NZL] made a strong start to the week with a convincing 21-7, 21-7 win over Eid Ali Al Maliki [ENG].
Here’s what Lau said after the match:
“I am happy to start off the week at North Harbour with a clean win. Overall, I am thrilled to see the hall back open and the International in action this week.
“Last week was a challenging few days in Sydney and I am eager to go as far as possible this week in front of my home crowd.”
Lau will also contend the Mixed Doubles alongside Shaunna Li [NZL], with their first match set for Wednesday.
Mixed Doubles:
After finishing as runners-up last week at the Roketto Sydney International, Australian pair Andika Ramadiansyah and Nozomi Shimizu had to battle for their Round of 32 victory.
The Australians were up against Garret Tan [USA] and Josephine Zhao [NZL], who they defeated 20-22, 21-7, 21-14.
Here’s what Shimizu and Ramadiansyah said after the match:
“We only just finished a long week in Sydney, and we are still a bit tired and weren’t fully focused on that match,” Shimizu said.
“We only arrived last night, and we haven’t had much rest, our focus wasn’t there but we will be more prepared for our next match. We are determined to keep fighting,” Ramadiansyah said.
Men’s Doubles:
There’s a Trans-Tasman partnership in contention this week in the Men’s Doubles between KC Teoh [AUS] and Chris Benzie [NZL].
The “last-minute pairing” has started off on a positive note after they defeated Lai Yin Chung [CAN] and Ka Yau Leung [ENG] 22-20, 21-14 to commence their campaign in Auckland.
“We certainly had a lot of fun today,” Teoh said. “We’d planned to just play singles but after we found out that we were both looking for a partner we teamed up.”
“It was great fun,” Benzie added.
Looking ahead to the Round of 16, the pair plan to drop their guard and play less defensively, allowing their natural offensive power come to the forefront.
Full results and more information: https://bit.ly/MNHI2024
Tournament play begins at 11am (NZDT) Thursday.
You can watch all the action live from Court 1&2 via the Badminton Oceania YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/MNHI2024StreamingPlaylist
