The US$ 50,000 Equinox NZ Open will be held in Auckland from Aug 1-6. With the increase in prize money the field is now thrown wider and attracted more world-class players from around the region, departing from its previous image of an almost domestic kind of tournament. Here is a report from TV New Zealand dated 26 July 2006: NZ Badminton Open adds stars Jul 26, 2006 An upgrade in prizemoney and international circuit status from a US$30,000 One Star event to US$50,000 and Two Star status has seen entries for the Equinox New Zealand Badminton Open in Auckland improve dramatically with some of the world's best players from badminton strongholds such as Singapore, Indonesia, Chinese Tapei, Japan, India and Malaysia enter the tournament. "With main sponsor Equinox upping the prizemoney the depth of the field has snowballed. Some of the Indonesians and Singaporeans may not have the highest rankings but when they take the court they can beat anyone in the world. They will be amazing to watch," Badminton New Zealand executive director, Peter Dunne said. Manchester Commonwealth Games women's singles winner, Li Li of Singapore will be one of the seeded players with countryman Ronald Susilo who was Singapore sportsman of the year in 2005 after beating world No1 Lin Dan to reach the Athens Olympics quarter-finals is set to be a title challenger in the men's singles. Another player to watch out for is Malaysian Tsuen Seng Lee who was runner-up in the 2002 Commonwealth Games men's singles and had previously reached the final of the strong Indonesia Open while Singapore's Yen Hui Kendrick Lee is a former world junior finalist. In the women's draw talented Indonesians Driyanti Firdasari, the 2005 winner of the event and Fransisca Ratansena the runner-up return and will be tough to beat, however New Zealand's own world top-20 ranked Rachel Hindley will also be one of the top seeds. Men's defending champ, Sairul Amar Ayob from Malaysia is returning along with Canadian top 40 player Bobby Milroy, England's Andrew Smith and plenty of Australians in all five of the draws. Kiwi Dan Shirley won the mixed title last year and was a finalist in the men's doubles but with be without partners from the finals. Sara Runesten Petersen has returned to Denmark while John Gordon is recovering from a major injury. Shirley will play with fellow Kiwi team members, Renee Flavell in the mixed and Craig Cooper in the men's doubles and if the draws are in his favour could still make the semifinals or finals. "It's great for New Zealanders to play against such talent and we shouldn't forget that our team put up a good fight at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and made the medal playoffs plus we do have world class Dan Shirley and other players such as John Moody, Rachel Hindley and Maggie Chan who are really starting to break through in major tournaments. "Having an event worth US$50,000 is remarkable in New Zealand in any sport and Badminton New Zealand is proud to be able to host an international series event of this nature in our country," Dunne said. The Equinox New Zealand Open will be played at the Auckland Badminton Centre, Gilles Ave, August 1-6 with the finals LIVE on TV ONE on Sunday August 6 from midday to 3pm. NZ Test Series against Singapore At the conclusion of the Equinox New Zealand Open the Millennium & Copthorne NZ Hotel Test Series against Singapore will be held around New Zealand including using the Trusts Stadium in Waitakere for the first time as a major badminton venue. The first test will be at Arena Manawatu, Tuesday August 8. The second test is Thursday August 10 at the Wellington Badminton Centre and The final test is Friday August 11 at Trusts Stadium, Waitakere. Where is our lady BC member from NZ?
I'll let her answer that This looks to be good for NZ badminton (and oceania badminton in general). It's a pity I won't be able to watch all of it, but I'll pop in when I can
Aiyoh, busy lah! Unfortunately for me, I've been so busy since the Commonwealth Games with returning to full time employment! But I'll ask IBF if they would like me to cover the NZ Open, it would be good to watch some of the games! I'm actually playing myself in the North Island Division III finals tomorrow. If our Auckland team wins that, we will then play the winner of the South Island to determine the NZ champion, should be fun! I'll keep you posted as to what's going on!
I didn't see Adrianti Firdasari in the main draw. Singaporeans could well win the MS, WS, WD and XD. No wonder they turn up in full team No Pelatnas players from Indonesia...PBSI has no money to apply for visas and fly them off to Auckland Instead, the club players Rian Sukmawan/Eng Hian and Purwati/Meiliana Jauhari will be there. I expect Rian/Eng Hian to win the MD title there, while Purwati/Meiliana will do well to reach the semi-final. They are expected to entertain the Singaporean pair of Jiang Yanmei/Li Yujia in the semi-final.
Never discount Ayob for the MS. He isn't last year's champ for nothing. I'm glad to note that Adelina is up an running and will soon be crowned Queen! Do follow up with your promises. We want to hear more from you!
