Waikato International 2007

[Sandy]

Final Matches


WS : Gu Juan (SIN) v Fu Mingtian (SIN)
MS : Pablo Abian (ESP) v Ashton Chen Yongzhao (SIN)
WD : Vanessa Neo Yu Yan/Shinta Mulia Sari (SIN) v Yao Lei/Frances Liu Fan (SIN)
MD : Wifqi Windarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan (INA) v Ashton Chen Yongzhao/Khoo Kian Teck (SIN)
XD : Riky Widianto/Vanessa Neo Yu Yan (SIN) v Chayut/Triyachart/Shinta Mulia Sari (SIN)

[taufik-ist]

what is waikato international tournament ? ?

[badMania]

Wow..Wifqi Windarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan manage to get into the Finals. 2500 ranking pts for the winners...not bad.

[badMania]

I didn't realise that Wifqi/Afiat is now in the top 100. A win tomorrow will elevate them above Rian/Yoke and into the top 70 :cool:

[huangkwokhau]

I didn't realise that Wifqi/Afiat is now in the top 100. A win tomorrow will elevate them above Rian/Yoke and into the top 70 :cool:
They got their revenge after they lost to Singapore pair in australia last week...good for them

[Sandy]

Final Results


WS : Gu Juan (SIN) v Fu Mingtian (SIN) 14-21 17-21
MS : Pablo Abian (ESP) v Ashton Chen Yongzhao (SIN) 17-21 17-21
WD : Vanessa Neo Yu Yan/Shinta Mulia Sari (SIN) v Yao Lei/Frances Liu Fan (SIN) 11-21 21-18 17-21
MD : Wifqi Windarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan (INA) v Ashton Chen Yongzhao/Khoo Kian Teck (SIN) 21-14 21-15
XD : Riky Widianto/Vanessa Neo Yu Yan (SIN) v Chayut/Triyachart/Shinta Mulia Sari (SIN) 16-21 19-21

[Krisna]

Wow..Wifqi Windarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan manage to get into the Finals. 2500 ranking pts for the winners...not bad.

According to some information that I saw, Waikato International this year is an International Challenge category... :cool: Thus the winner gets 4000 ranking points... ;)

[Krisna]

what is waikato international tournament ? ?

The 2nd most prestigious BWF tournament for adults held in NZ this year... :cool: It is an International Challenge level tournament... :D

[Krisna]

Hmmm... I just saw another information that claims that Waikato International this year in still an International Series level... I don't know who's correct... :confused: :confused: :confused: I am sure a few months ago, Waikato said that they are an International Challenge level... :confused:

[huangkwokhau]

I think it is International series.......

[taufik-ist]

The 2nd most prestigious BWF tournament for adults held in NZ this year... :cool: It is an International Challenge level tournament... :D

if i'm not wrong.. maria kristin was the ws winner last year

[Krisna]

I think it is International series.......

Yup, so it is an International Series... :p So, please forget about my comment about Waikato being the 2nd most prestigious tournament in NZ...


if i'm not wrong.. maria kristin was the ws winner last year
Maria Kristin won in Waikato? I don't think so... :confused: Maria won the Singapore and Surabaya Satellite, but did she even compete in Waikato... We better check her record in BWF... :D I am on my way to the airport... Won't have time...

[badMania]

Yup, so it is an International Series... :p So, please forget about my comment about Waikato being the 2nd most prestigious tournament in NZ...


First international title for Wifqi/Afiat in a field that includes some NZ seniors and mostly SIN-based players. It's a VERY GOOD result!

Looks like Djarum is footing the bill for them also in prepartion for the WJC?

[Loh]

Waikato Int'l: Singapore Takes Four More Titles in Oceania

By Lynne Scutt, Badzine Correspondent;
Photos: Badmintonphoto (Archives)
Monday, 17 September 2007

The final tournament in the Oceania Circuit, the Waikato International, came to an end today to finish a very busy and exciting season in that region. Players from all the world's badminton-playing regions have travelled to at least one tournament in this Oceania Circuit either in the Pacific Islands, New Zealand or Australia.

Waikato is a region approximately 90mins from Auckland City Centre and is a regular tournament on the international circuit. This year, a large group from Singapore had continued on from the Ballarat International and Waikato would become a tournament that the Singapore team enjoyed. On finals day, they made up 8 of the 10 finalists with an Indonesian men’s doubles pair getting in the way of the clean sweep.

In the ladies’ singles, Fu Mingtian (pictured) wasn’t troubled through the tournament and won her 2nd title in two weeks. After beating Australian Huang Chia Chi in the Ballarat final last week, she beat teammate Gu Juan here in two comfortable games.

The men’s singles final between Pablo Albion (ESP) and Yongzhao Ashton Chen (SIN) was a repeat of their second round match in last week’s Ballarat International. The Spaniard won that one quite comfortably in 2 games. In Waikato, however, it was revenge for the unseeded Chen, who had to get past another Spaniard, Carlos Longo, and 2nd seed Jan Frohlich (CZE) to gain his place in the final. It then took him 32 minutes to upset Albion and win the men’s singles title.

There was disappointment for the local favourites and top seeds John Moody and Rachel Hindley, who both went down to Singaporean opponents.

Same Faces, New Placings

Two finals today were the same as last week but with the result reversed. In the mixed doubles final Triyachart/Sari (SIN) got revenge Widianto/Neo (SIN) in 2 games and in the ladies’ doubles it was the turn of Yao/Liu (SIN) to win a title, beating teammates Sari/Neo (pictured) - who both also featured in the mixed final - in the day’s longest match, which they finally won 21-17 in the third.

The last match of the day was the men’s doubles and it was Indonesians Windarto and Wirawan who would ruin the day for the Singaporeans and dispatch any idea they had of a clean sweep. The Indonesian pair didn’t drop a game throughout but had to get past the current NZ no. 1 pair, the top-seeded Australian pair and two Singaporean pairs to take the title.

[Loh]

Waikato Times
Monday, 17 September 2007


Singapore's Yongzhao Ashton Chen dived to the floor Roger Federer style when he won the men's singles of the Waikato Badminton International yesterday.

The $US5000 tournament held at the Waikato Badminton Stadium was Chen's first visit to New Zealand and the unseeded player beat Spain's Pablo Abian 21-17 21-17.

After trailing early in the first set, Chen dominated the match and entertained the small crowd with his skills in the air.

"It was tough," Chen said.

"I watched Pablo play last week in Australia and he's a good player.

"I think I just kept the shuttle in play better and made less mistakes. He did play very well though, maybe he's just tired from Australia."

It may have been fatigue that troubled Chen in his second final of the day, the men's doubles.

Chen and Kian Teck Khoo lost to Indonesians Wifqi Windarto and Afiat Yuris Wirawan 21-14 21-15.

Eighteen-year-old Chen is one of a number of young Singaporean players returning to New Zealand next month for the World Junior Championships in Auckland.

He said loved the scenery in New Zealand and was looking forward to next month's champs although the style of play varied a great deal between junior and senior players.

The women's doubles was a grudge match between two teams from rival clubs in Singapore. Eventually the third seeds Lei Yao and Fan Frances Liu - who have a a combined ranking of 79 - defeated the top seeds and No 46 pairing of Yu Yan Vanessa Neo and Shinta Mulia Sari in three games.

Chayut Triyachart and Shinata Mulia Sari won their mixed pairs after an all-Singapore final.

The best of the New Zealand players in the tournament was Vina, who reached the semis in the women's singles, the Moody brother and sister team of John and Catherine who were mixed semifinalists and Donna Cranston and Renee Flavell who made the women's doubles semis.

The Indonesian pairing of Windarto and Yuris were the only non-Singapore players to win at the tournament and stopped a Singapore whitewash.

With huge government funding and a potentially large population base imported from neighbouring nations Singapore had a distinct advantage over other countries in the tournament.

The majority of their players taking part will return to New Zealand next month for the world junior championships teams and individual events to be held at the Trusts Stadium in Waitakere.

Singapore will be looking to challenge defending champs Korea and China as well as staying ahead of other Asian powerhouses and the strong European contingents of Denmark and England

[Loh]

The Straits Times
September 17 2007

By Terrence Voon

"Vanessa Neo did it last Sunday. So did Kendrick Lee three years ago.

Now, Ashton chen has become the latest Singapore-born player to win an international series badminton comptetion.

By winning the men's singles title at the Waikato International in New Zealand yesterday, the 18-year-old also became the youngest Singaporean to do so.

The competition was an International Series event - a third-tier competition ranked behind the Super Series and Grand Prix events.

It is a springboard for promising young shuttlers, a category which Ashton surely falls into now after his impressive victory over Spaniard Pablo Abian in the final.

The Singaporean first made healines in June, when he gunned down Malaysia's former world No. 1 Roslin Hashim at the Cheers Asian Satellite tournament.

Yesterday's win at the Waikato Badminton Stadium also represented another hig scalp for the teenager, who is ranked 255th in the world.

Making light of the rankings, he saw off his erth-ranked opponent 21-17, 21-17.

Ashton even dispatched his elder brother Aaron, 21, in the semi-finals on Saturday - a result which gave him extra motivation to claim the title.

"I cried after the match, because I felt bad beating Aaron," he said. "I knew I had to do well in the final."

The tournament also saw Singapore players sweep four of the five titles on offer.