09The VICTOR Oceania Championships 2022 opened with the men’s singles draw this afternoon, with a large draw of 65 players from 4 member countries (Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Tahiti) competing.
The 2019 men’s singles finalist, Rémi Rossi, has returned to the continent to compete in this years tournament as his quest continues to be the first player outside of Australia and New Zealand to win a gold medal at the Continental Championships. After spending the last two and a half years in France training to become a teacher and sparring alongside French national players, it did not take him long to find his form in the first round opener (followed by a bye in the second) and therefore easing into tomorrow’s third round.
- Remi Rossi (TAH) vs Chauncey Yu (AUS) 21-10 21-10
“I’m so happy to be here and enjoy it on the court. It’s always stressful for me as I travelled here from France and if you lose, it’s over. It was a hard game and I was behind at the beginning of both games, but I managed to find more confidence and the rest was OK”
“I had to be focused on every point and once I could string three or four points together, I found more confidence. For me, it is important to remain confident whether you win or lose, you must go on to every match telling yourself that you can win it”, says Remi
Meanwhile, Fiji’s Jared Chung is one of two representatives from Fiji in this year’s edition. The 17-year-old youngster faced an uphill battle against the more experienced player from Australia, who didn’t allow Chung to find his form in the first game, meaning it was too little too late.
- Ephraim Stephen Sam (AUS) vs Jared Chung (FIJ) 21-6 21-13
“It’s really good to get back into this level of badminton. The players standard are above me and I need to be able to learn and take as much as I can from the experience. I was very slow in the first game and I had to psyche myself up to perform better in the second. I will take what I can from the match and know that I went out there and did my best“, says Jared.
New Zealand’s Oscar Guo became the hero of Oceania three years ago at Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre as the 2017 Junior Champion became the 2019 Open Champion. He returned to the court with a vengeance this afternoon as his deceptive style and precision allowed him to win comfortably in two.
- Oscar Guo (NZL) vs Shrey Dhand (AUS) 21-9 21-13
Less than two weeks ago, Jacob Schueler was crowned the Australian National Champion. This week, he is the fourth seed and will be looking to better his 2020 campaign where he was knocked out in the semifinals by the eventual winner, Abhinav Manota (New Zealand). Today, he survived a first-round scare against fellow compatriot, Ken Richardson, who got too close for comfort.
- Jacob Schueler (AUS)[4] vs Ken Richardson (AUS) 17-21 21-14 21-19
The first shock exit and seeded player to be knocked out of the tournament came in the form of Australian sixth seed, Keith Edison. His opponent (Ying Xiang Lin) was a quarterfinalist in 2020 and entered the match with one win under his belt already, having defeated New Zealand’s Daxxon Vong in the earlier first round. Ying’s winning form continued through to the late afternoon as he smashed his way past Edison to progress into tomorrow’s third round.
- Ying Xiang Lin (AUS) vs Daxxon Vong (NZL) 21-10 21-16
- Ying Xiang Lin (AUS) vs Keith Edison (AUS)[4] 21-16 21-14
Meanwhile, the women’s singles draw opened with one game today. With a draw of 17 players, most players received a bye into the second round which opens on day two. However, Fiji’s Sristi Nadan was pitted against Australia’s Jazmine Lam in a first-round opener, where Lam prevailed.
- Jazmine Lam (AUS) vs Srsiti Nadan (FIJ) 21-9 21-7
The men’s and mixed doubles will progress into the evening, with all matches on court one and two available to watch for free on the live stream, via Badminton Oceania’s YouTube Channel. Click here to watch.
Moreover, you can follow the draw on Tournament Software.
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