Pictured: Gronya Somerville and Wendy Chen (Australia). Photo Credit: Mel Walsh
Today’s quarterfinals opened with some heated mixed doubles contests as the draw narrows down to the final four pairs. Three out of the top four seeds lived up to expectations, while the first seeds from Canada fell at the hands of Chang and Lee from Chinese Taipei, who were winners in the YONEX Sydney International a fortnight ago.
- Chang Ko-Chi/Lee Chih Chen (TPE)[8] vs Ty Lindeman/Josephine Wu (CAN)[1]
Oceania’s reigning mixed doubles champions, Kenneth Choo and Gronya Somerville, were the continent’s last remaining hopes in the discipline. The first game remained in close contention, while the Australian’s took control of the second game to force a decider. A handful of errors from Kenneth and Gronya towards the end gave the Japanese duo an advantage as they closed in on the victory.
- Naoki Yamada/Moe Ikeuchi (JPN)[4] vs Kenneth Choo/Gronya Somerville (AUS) 22-20 14-21 21-16
Soon after, Oceania’s 2020 men’s singles champion (Abhinav Manota) took to the courts to continue his campaign in his first international tournament since the Continental Championships in April. However, the past two weeks of competition in Sydney and Bendigo seemed to give his sixth seeded opponent the upper hand this morning.
- Chen Chi Ting (TPE)[6] vs Abhinav Manota (NZL)[4] 21-12 21-17
Yushi Tanaka continued his impressive form which saw him past the tournament favourite (Lin Chun-Yi) yesterday. Only this time, he overcame his fellow compatriot and seventh seed Minoru Koga in two convincing games. Meanwhile, their other teammates went over the hour mark on the courts parallel as the Japanese contingent got more players through to the semifinal and essentially guarantees one representative in the final – a feat which wasn’t reached in Sydney or Bendigo.
- Yushi Tanaka (JPN) vs Minoru Koga (JPN)[7] 21-16 21-17
- Riku Hatano (JPN)[5] vs Keisuke Fujiwara (JPN) 21-16 11-21 21-17
The women’s singles also witnessed some tremendous battles. Japan’s Shiori Saito laid it all out on court with impressive cross court dives and pinpoint precision in the important closing stages of her third game to see off the challenge from Yu Chien Hui.
- Shiori Saito (JPN) vs Yu Chien Hui (TPE) 21-16 17-21 21-17
She will be joined in tonight’s semifinals by fellow compatriot, Manami Suizu, who brought a stern end to Yi En Hsieh’s reign following her victory over Sydney and Bendigo’s women’s singles champion (Sung Shuo Yun) in yesterday’s round of 16.
- Manami Suizu (JPN) vs Yi En Hsieh (TPE) 21-18 21-8
Bringing the quarterfinals to a close, Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Wendy Chen celebrated one of their best results over the past three weeks. They progress into tonight’s semifinal following a consistently aggressive performance against their Chinese Taipei opponents, where they will face the winners of last week’s YONEX Bendigo International, Lee and Teng.
- Wendy Chen/Gronya Somerville (AUS) vs Sung Yu-Hsuan/Wang Szu-Min (TPE) 21-15 21-15
- Lee Chia Hsin/Teng Chun Hsun (TPE)[3] vs Miku Shigeta/Yui Suizu (JPN) 25-23 11-21 21-18
However, it was the end of the road for Oceania’s reigning men’s doubles champions (Abhinav and Jack) as they succumbed to the fourth seeded Canadians.
- Kevin Lee/Ty Lindeman (CAN)[4] vs Abhinav Manota/Jack Wang (NZL) 21-17 21-13
Elsewhere, there was another upset in the men’s doubles draw as Singapore’s Wee and Wong captivated the audience with their steep and powerful jump smashes to narrowly squeeze past the second seeded Canadians.
- Donovan Willard Wee/Guang Liang Jason Wong (SGP) vs Adam Dong/Nyl Yakura (CAN) 22-20 23-21
Check out all results from today’s quarterfinals at the VICTOR North Harbour International 2022 on Tournament Software.
The semifinals will begin at 5pm (local time, GMT+13). Follow the latest news and find out more on Badminton Oceania’s Facebook page.
All matches on courts one and two are available to watch on the live stream for free, via Badminton Oceania’s YouTube channel – click here to watch.
