The YONEX Waikato International 2019 got underway today, as players from around the world congregate in Hamilton to compete in the BWF International Series event. Many of our representative Waikato players are competing, with a handful competing on day one of competition.
Matthew Graham was the first Waikato player to walk onto home courts against Australia’s men’s singles champion from 2018. Shortly followed by another Waikato rep, Vincent Harris who was up against the USA’s Ye Binghong. The early twenty-year-olds weren’t able to capitalise on their home advantage and eventually went down in two games:
- Runze Yan (AUS) vs Matthew Graham (NZL) 21-13 21-9
- Ye Binghong (USA) vs Vincent Harris (NZL) 21-13 21-12
New Zealand’s under-19 national squad member, Ella Smith has entered all three disciplines at this year’s tournament. The youngster has recently relocated to Hamilton after accepting a university scholarship and is training regularly in this venue. Smith is celebrating one win and one loss after winning her opening mixed doubles match alongside fellow Waikato rep, Ben Perkinson.
- Ben Perkinson/Ella Smith (NZL) vs Ricky Cheng/Amelia Lowe (NZL/AUS) 23-21 21-14
- Thi Anh Thu Vu (VIE) vs Ella Smith (NZL) 21-11 21-6
Perkinson was also one of the last matches on court on day one, competing in the men’s doubles event with New Zealand’s Vincent Tao. The pair fought back from one game down to take the second games, carrying their momentum through to the third and final end to seal the win:
- Ben Perkinson/Vincent Tao (NZL) vs Rio Agustino/Hongyuan Wong (AUS) 19-21 23-21 21-19
Meanwhile, Adam Jeffrey had a tough draw in his singles and mixed doubles draw, coming up against strong Japanese opposition in the men’s singles and last week’s mixed doubles champions at the YONEX North Harbour International 2019:
- Shota Omoto (JPN) vs Adam Jeffrey (NZL) 21-14 21-5
- Zhang Hanyu/Pan Hanxiao (CHN) vs Adam Jeffrey/Catelyn Rozario (NZL) 21-14 21-16
Several more of our representative player’s will be in action on day two of competition, including fourth seeds in the mixed doubles – Erena Calder-Hawkins and Jonathan Curtin – alongside Amreen Virk, Christopher Steeghs and Lily Rose.
View all the results from day one, along with the schedule for day two, on Tournament Software.