Women’s Doubles
The first clash of the day was the Women’s Doubles Final rematch from last week in Bendigo between Chinese Taipei pairs Chih Chen Lee and Lin Yen Yu against Yin-Hui Hsu and Jhih Yun Lin. Command in the first game was neck-and-neck for the first few minutes before Hsu and Lin managed to take a three-point lead into the interval. They remained on the same trajectory and kept applying plenty of pressure which led to their opponents making several net errors to help them secure the first game 21-12.
Hsu and Lin also led at the first interval in the second game, however, this time there was just one point between them. It wasn’t long before Hsu and Lin managed to break away to a six-point lead thanks to several accurate smashes which left Lee and Yu without any answer. Hsu and Lin managed to take out the second with ease to win the second 21-12, locking in their second title in two weeks.
Result: Yin-Hui Hsu/Jhih Yun Lin [TPE] def Chih Chen Lee/ Lin Yen Yu [TPE] 21-12, 21-12
Women’s Singles
It was another all-Chinese Taipei showdown for the second match of the day, between Ching Ping Huang and Ciou-Tong Tung. Neither player managed to take early control of the game with the score going point-for-point up to the interval, before Huang edged ahead thanks to a few strong smashes to take the first 21-16.
Despite enduring a 72-minute Semi Final the day prior, Tung’s energy now started lifting, and she started displaying signs of control by taking a four-point lead at the first interval in the second game. The road to winning the first game for Tung then became weary with both players showing signs of exhaustion, however, Tung levelled the match by winning the second 21-19.
Tung remained resilient in the deciding game and powered ahead to a 11-5 lead at the interval. The pace from both players started to slow as fatigue started to well and truly set in. A few net errors from Huang helped Tung slowly bridge a gap to win the match 21-14.
Result: Ciou-Tong Tung [TPE] def Ching Ping Huang [TPE] 16-21, 21-19, 21-14
Men’s Singles:
All eyes were on last week’s YONEX Bendigo International Men’s Singles Champion Shogo Ogawa [JPN] who was determined to secure his second title in a row. However, his opponent Ping-Hsien Huang [TPE] had different plans and fought his way to a strong lead to secure the first game 21-14.
The momentum remained steady in the second game with both tussling for scoreboard control, but before too long Ogawa buckled down and overcame more than a four-point lead in thrilling fashion to win the second 22-20. The stage was then set for an exhilarating third game in front of a packed crowd at Roketto.
Neither Ogawa nor Huang looked to show any signs of slowing down in the third with the scores going point-for-point. Huang was one point ahead at the interval. He then steadily broke away to seal the match 21-14.
Result: Ping-Hsien Huang [TPE] def Shogo Ogawa [JPN] 21-14, 20-22, 21-14.
Men’s Doubles:
After bowing out of the tournament last week in Bendigo during the Semi Finals, Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita [JPN] set a fast pace from the get go against Po Yu Lai and Fu Cheng Tsai [TPE] in the Men’s Doubles Final. The Japanese powered ahead to secure the first game 21-14 with relative ease.
Hiroki and Midorikawa didn’t hesitate during the second game, executing several high-flying accurate jump smashes to see out the match 21-16.
Result: Hiroki Midorikawa/Kyohei Yamashita [JPN] def Po Yu Lai/Fu Cheng Tsai [TPE] 21-14. 21-16
Mixed Doubles
It was the match the home Sydney crowd had been waiting for, the Mixed Doubles Final between Australians Nozomi Shimizu and Andika Ramadiansyah against Cheng Kuan Chen and Yin-Hui Hsu [TPE].
The Australians held a minor one-point buffer at the first interval. Ramadiansyah then put on what can only be described as a jump smash clinic scoring several points to get ahead, but then Chen and Hsu’s consistency aided them to win the first 26-24 over the Australians.
Home-crowd support helped Ramadiansyah and Shimizu power out of the gates in the second, taking out the game 21-11 to level the match and setup a thrilling finale.
Chen and Hsu showed greater control and accuracy across all parts of the court to outlast the Australians and see out the third game 21-11.
Result: Cheng Kuan Chen/Yin-Hui Hsu [TPE] def Nozomi Shimizu and Andika Ramadiansyah [AUS] 26-24, 11-21, 21-11.
Thank you to all tournament sponsors and supporters Roketto Badminton Centre, Ling-Mei, Badminton NSW, Australian Badminton League, Badminton Australia and Tensegrity Sports Clinics.
In addition, a special thank you to all our volunteers and technical officials for their dedication this week in Sydney. Without you this tournament wouldn’t have been possible.
Re-watch all the matches here: https://bit.ly/RSI2024StreamingPlaylist
With the second leg of the Oceania triple-header now complete, all attention now shifts to across the Tasman for next week’s MAXX North Harbour International which begins this Wednesday October 23.
