The morning got off to a dramatic start as the first seeds from Canada were knocked out of the mixed doubles draw, meaning that only two of the top four seeds remain.
Tournament underdogs, Kazuhiro and Yui (Japan), came all the way through qualifying and have made a name for themselves in Bendigo by defeating Oceania Champions (Kenneth Choo and Gronya Somerville) and their fellow compatriots (who are also fourth seeds) en route to tonight’s semifinal.
- Ko-Chi Chang/Chih Chen Lee (TPE) vs Ty Lindeman/Josephine Wu (CAN)[1] 21-16 21-12
- Kazuhiro Ichikawa/Yui Suizu (JPN) vs Naoki Yamada/Moe Ikeuchi (JPN)[4] 21-15 21-15
Similarly, in the women’s singles draw, Japan’s Manami Suizi is causing more upsets on her mission to reach her first international final. Today she fought valiantly to overcome the sixth seed from Chinese Taipei in two close games. Meanwhile, the top seed and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Thuy Linh Nguyen, had another tough encounter as she was forced to work over three games to earn her place in the semifinals.
- Manami Suizu (JPN) vs Ting Yu Liang (TPE)[6] 21-17 21-18
- Thuy Linh Nguyen (VIE)[1] vs Karupathevan Letshanaa (MAS) 21-15 13-21 21-18
Australia’s dream of seeing Gronya Somerville and Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen through to the ‘business end’ of the tournament came crashing down as the pair narrowly lost out to the fourth seeds.
- Ching Hui Chang/Ching Tun Yang (TPE)[4] vs Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen/Gronya Somerville (AUS) 22-20 21-18
Australia had two other pairs competing in the quarterfinals, although in the men’s doubles draw. Both pairs met their match in the form of third and fourth seeds from Chinese Taipei – a particularly tricky affair for Keith Edison and Mitchell Wheller who were competing against last week’s winners in Sydney who have carried their fine form through to Bendigo.
- Ko-Chin Chang/Li-Wei Po (TPE)[3] vs Lukas Defolky/Huaidong Tang (AUS)[6] 21-13 21-18
- Lee Fang-Chih/Fang-Jen Lee (TPE)[4] vs Keith Mark Edison/Mitchell Whellers (AUS) 21-11 21-11
Finally, the most vocal pair of the tournament made their emotions known in the Red Energy Arena Bendigo as they defeated the eighth seeds from Canada over three electrifying games.
- Ryoman Muramoto/Daiki Umayahara (JPN) vs Kevin Lee/Ty Lindeman (CAN)[8] 21-16 20-22 21-15
Check out all results from today’s quarterfinals on Tournament Software. The semifinals will start at 5pm (local time, AEDT) on Saturday 15 October, starting with the women’s singles and mixed doubles.
All matches will be available to watch for free on the live stream, via Badminton Oceania’s YouTube Channel.
