Depth Of International Field Makes Going Tough For Kiwis
Wednesday 27 March 2013, 6:07PM
By dave worsley
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It’s going to be tough for Kiwi players to score significant results at the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open next month 10-14 April in Auckland with the depth of the draws bigger and better than ever seen before in New Zealand.
Four of the five just completed draws have qualifying with the total number of nations represented is 19 and 250 players entered with organisors set to schedule 64 qualifying and 187 main draw matches in total using an estimated 2000 shuttles.
The men’s singles is headed by current world No20 Simon Santoso who is a national representative for Indonesia. The 27-year-old is aiming to use the Auckland tournament as a stepping stone to return to the top 10 after injuries have kept him out of play so far this year. Santoso will play Chinese Taipei opponent , Lin Yu Hsien in the first round with a likely second round match against an Indonesian player.
There are difficult matches for Kiwis James Eunson, Asher Richardson and TJ Weistra all facing seeds while recently crowned national champion Michael Fowke plays Chia Hsin Wan from Chinese Taipei. Top Kiwi Joe Wu who has been training in Taipei plays a Malaysian opponent. The 16-player qualifying draw has many New Zealand U19 players aiming to qualify by they will face competition from Australians, Indonesians, Koreans and Malaysians
The women’s singles qualifying has several opportunities for players such as North Harbour’s Vicki Copeland to qualify. However the main draw won’t be easy with Taipei’s Hsiao Ma Pai at with a ranking of 21 the top seed. Southland’s Anna Rankin comes up against Japan’s Ayumi Mine in a winnable encounter while national champion, Anona Pak(Nth Harbour) plays the third seed Xuan Deng from China.
Top Kiwi men’s doubles combination Kevin Dennerly-Minturn and Oliver Leydon-Davis face the sixth seeds and world No51 ranked pair Chen Hung Ling and Lu Chia Bin(Chinese Taipei) in the first round. Fellow Kiwis Brock Matheson(Nth Harbour) and Asher Richardson(Waikato) play a beatable Chinese Taipei team in their first round match. There are four seeded teams in the top 20 rankings.
The women’s doubles draw will be key for two New Zealand combinations; Susannah Leydon-Davis and Emma Rodgers and Amanda Brown and Kritteka Gregory who are both aiming for qualifying points towards the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
New Zealand-based English coaches Tracey Hallam and Tom Armstrong add a bit of spice to the mixed doubles draw. Hallam was ranked as high as No7 in the world in singles and won gold in singles at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The world No12 pair of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili(Indonesia) head the mixed draw. Kiwi brother and sister pair of Susannah and Oliver Leydon Davis play seventh seeds Chen Hung Ling and Wu Ti Jung(Chinese Taipei) in the first round.
“It’s the strongest ever tournament field to be held in New Zealand and although it’s going to be tough for local talent, it’s also an opportunity for them to step up and prove themselves at an international level. The skill we will be witnessing is going to be quite amazing,” said SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open Event Director Julie Carrel.
The Auckland finals will be broadcast live into a number of Asian nations due to the high interest in the sport in this part of the world. Web-streaming will be available as from the round of 16 in all events.
The SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open will be held from 10-14 April 2013 at the North Shore Events Centre, Auckland.
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