Changing Of The Guard At New Zealand Badminton

The 2009 North Harbour Badminton Open looks set to be a real test for the latest group of young New Zealand players who are taking over the sport after the retirement of almost the entire Melbourne Commonwealth Games team

New Zealand U23 champion, Bjorn Seguin leads a strong contingent from the Waikato and is the men’s singles top seed while Southland’s James Eunson is the second seed.

In the women’s singles draw Auckland’s Clare Chapple will have to be at the top of her game to hold off New Zealand international Jessica Jonggowisastro of North Harbour as well as Melissa Leviana and second seed Anna Rankin(Soutland) who recently won her first ever national title when she took away the New Zealand U23 women’s singles.

The men’s doubles and mixed features former World Championship bronze medal winner, Dan Shirley. He is teamed with fellow Waitakere player, Simon Koo in the men’s doubles and sister Gabby Aves(nee Shirley) in the mixed.

The men’s doubles is headed by the team of Auckland’s Kevin Dennerly-Minturn and Waikato’s Oliver Leydon-Davis, both of whom were prominent in the 2007 World Junior Championship held at Waitakere. Their main competition will be from the Auckland pair Ashraf Dhoray and Delius Tang.

The women’s doubles features New Zealand team members Donna Haliday and Danielle Barry along with the Waitakere pair of Mary O’Connor and Kritteka Gregory, with the unseeded pair of Auckland based Australian Lousie McKenzie and Emma Rodgers the dark horses for the title.

The top seeds and New Zealand team representatives in the mixed, Haliday and Henry Tam are the outright favourites for the title with the main rivalry set to be Leydon-Davis and Barry.

The tournament begins with men’s and women’s initial round singles on Thursday night followed by a full round of all five draws on Friday and the finals on Saturday afternoon from 5pm at the North Harbour Badminton Centre.