Pictured: Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin (Chinese Taipei). Photo Credit: Badminton Photo, Erika Sawauchi
The mixed doubles opened proceedings at the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open 2022 with three heated matches warming up the crowds. Noticeably, court three was attracting considerable attention as the new Indonesian pair Ferdinansyah/Widjaja caused the first upset of the quarterfinals by bettering their seventh seeded opponents across three thrilling games, spanning over 77 minutes. Meanwhile, the reigning Olympic Champion (Huang Dongping) and her new partner made light work of the fourth mixed doubles installation.
- Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Widjaja (INA) vs Yuki Kaneko/Misaki Matsutomo (JPN)[7] 20-22 21-19 21-17
- Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping (CHN)[8] vs Adnan Maulana/Nita Violina Marwah (INA) 21-7 21-4
As the afternoon picked up pace, there were two major casualties among the men’s and women’s doubles.
Firstly, the reigning Olympic Champions (and second seeds in Australia) Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin made a quarterfinal exit following two phenomenal games from China’s eighth seed and new pairing, Liu Yu Chen and Ou Xuan Yi. At 20-18 down in the second game, Lee and Wang looked like they were going to make a miraculous recovery but Liu and Ou were eager to seal the deal, taking the game on the sixth time of asking.
- Liu Yu Chen/Ou Xuan Yi (CHN)[8] vs Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin (TPE)[2] 22-20 25-23
“Both teams wanted to win that game so badly and it was a great game by both pairs. It’s our first time playing against the Olympic Champions and we’re happy with that result” Liu Yu Chen, China.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia Hsin and Teng Chun Hsun put on a powerful performance to break through the wall of Japanese second seeds and two-time World Champions, Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara. It was their first encounter against each other and the victory aids Lee and Teng’s world ranking which recently enjoyed a boost following last month’s win at the YONEX Bendigo International 2022. Will Australia be their lucky charm once again this weekend?
- Lee Chia Hsin/Teng Chun Hsun (TPE) vs Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN)[2] 22-20 21-18
Later in the evening, there were two more stunning blows to the men’s singles and women’s doubles draw.
Japan’s campaign in the usually dominant women’s doubles came to a shocking end as the third seeds and last remaining pair fell over three (and an excruciatingly close deciding game) ends to the sixth seeded Chinese duo, Zhang and Zheng.
- Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu (CHN)[6] vs Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN)[3] 14-21 21-10 21-19
Meanwhile, the last game to grace court one was the highly anticipated clash between Shi Yu Qui (China) and Loh Kean Yew (Singapore). The pair have only met twice before (most recently at the HYLO Open which the Singaporean won). However, today’s match told a different story. Loh Kean Yew took an early lead as he snatched the opening game, but from 6-6 in the second, the match was entirely in Shi Yu Qi’s hand as the former world number 2 maintained his pace and led for the entirety.
- Shi Yu Qi (CHN) vs Loh Kean Yew (SGP)[2] 17-21 21-16 21-13
Australia’s remaining interest in the tournament had enjoyed a lucky spell up until the quarterfinals. Wild card entry Nathan Tang won his opening campaign yesterday against 17-year-old compatriot to qualify through to today’s draw, but he was no match for the Malaysian Commonwealth Games runner up this year, Ng Tze Yong.
Moreover, the youthful Tjonadi sisters (Victoria and Sydney, aged only 14 and 16) enjoyed an unusual series of walkovers right through from qualifying to play in their first match today. Yesterday they should have competed against the top seeds from Japan, but the pair unfortunately withdrew due to injury. Another unlikely occurrence was that the pair they played today were also sisters, from Thailand, Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard, who showed no remorse against the youngsters on court three.
- Ng Tze Yong (MAS) vs Nathan Tang (AUS) 21-9 21-7
- Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard (THA) vs Victoria Tjonadi/Sydney Tjonadi (AUS) 21- 6 21-4
View all results from the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open 2022 Quarterfinals on Tournament Software.
Day Five – Semifinals
The semifinals will begin at 1pm (AEDT) on Saturday 19 November 2022. Follow all results and draws on Tournament Software.
All matches will be available to watch on the live stream via the BWF TV YouTube Channel.
Join the conversation online by using the hashtag #ABO22. More photos from the tournament are available to view in the Photo Albums on Badminton Oceania’s Facebook page.
