In October the Oceania Tour 2022 sprung back into action, with three out of the five eligible tournaments getting underway in Oceania.
The Tour started back in April at the VICTOR Oceania Championships and was revived in Octoberat the YONEX Sydney International 2022. The players will then go on to have another chance to collect points at the YONEX Bendigo International 2022.
The Oceania Tour 2022 is an initiative linked to Badminton Oceania’s player development programme, supported by the Badminton World Federation. The eligible players who accumulate the highest amount of World Ranking points in each discipline (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles) from five tournaments will be awarded prize money to support future training or competition costs.
Winners from this year’s Continental Championships have held the leading position of their discipline in the Tour since April and theYONEX Sydney International only altered the men’s doubles lead. The other disciplines changed marginally for the chasers in positions 2, 3 and 4.
In the men’s singles, Edward Lau (New Zealand) remains firmly on top, but Australia’s Jack Yu jumped seven places into second following his run into the quarterfinals. However, Jack is not competing in Bendigo or North Harbour as he travels to Spain to compete in the BWF World Junior Championships 2022.
Similarly, Oceania’s seven-time women’s singles champion, Wendy Chen (Australia) has extended her lead dramatically in the Tour’s women’s singles category following her quarterfinal feat. However an early exit in Bendigo could compromise her significant lead if her fellow compatriot Tiffany Ho (currently in third place in the Tour) continues to progress. Ho pursued victory after 68 minutes on court to progress into the next round.
In the men’s doubles, Australia’s Lin Ying Xiang and Kai Chen Teoh knocked this year’s Continental Champions (Abhinav Manota and Jack Wang, New Zealand) off the top of the leader board. The New Zealander’s haven’t entered any of the Grade Three tournaments which hinders their progress in the Oceania Tour 2022. Meanwhile, Kenneth Choo and Ming Lim are lurking in third position. Kenneth got all the way to the semifinals in Sydney, although he played with a different partner due to Ming’s unavailability. However, the pair are back in action in Bendigo to threaten Lin and Kai’s five minutes of fame.
In the women’s doubles, the draw seems wide open as the top two pairs (winners and runners-up from this year’s Continental Championships) have changed partners since. The most noticeable change in Tour in this discipline was Jocye Choong and Setyana Mapasa, with one win and one loss in Sydney pushing them into joint seventh position. Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen were not able to capitalise on their fourth place Commonwealth Games finish in Sydney, suffering an early exit and landing a joint ninth place on the Tour. However, the pair are back in action in Bendigo and could look to push for the Tour title if they succeed, as well as at the VICTOR North Harbour International.
Finally, Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Kenneth Choo maintain their position at the top of the mixed doubles Tour leader board, despite an early exit in Sydney. The pair are competing in Bendigo and North Harbour, and could cement the Oceania Tour 2022 victory if they enter and qualify for the SATHIO Group Australian Badminton Open next month too.
The latest Oceania Tour rankings are available to view here.
Once the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open is complete and the world ranking points have been calculated, the Oceania Tour 2022 winners in each discipline will be announced (no later than 24 November 2022).
The latest news, information and clips from the tournaments will be available to view on Badminton Oceania’s Facebook page.
Article adapted from the Badminton Oceania website.