Oceania Olympic Qualification - Day 1

End of the first day in Oceania and already some great results. The Island nation representatives from Fiji and Vanuatu struggling to hold up to the might of Australia and New Zealand. Great starts by Li Chunli, Phillip Xiao and Yi-Sien Lin from New Zealand who won both of their 2 singles matches thus far. William Henzell and Justin Han are the two Australians who made their mark on day 1 also winning their matches though they played the last round of the evening and so are able to edge ahead with 3 wins each. Justin put questions to rest with a stunning 4-0 win over Robert Frank while Henzell dealt to Olympic hopeful and teammate David Powell 4-1. Matt Ball closed the group 1 matches for the day with a valiant effort against David Powell, Powell's experience playing in Poland getting the better of the hard working Manawatu player in 5 sets.

Yi-Sien Lin (NZL)
Photo by Matt Hetherington

In the womens draw Li Chunli got off to a great start with a 4-2 win over former European Youth Champion, Miao Miao. A great sign that Chunli is still a fighting force to be reckoned with. Chunli also beat Anolyn Lulu 4-0 and also Peri Campbell-Innes 4-1. Vivian Tan led a surprise win over Jian Fang Lay 4-2 and also took out Miao Miao 4-1, but her efforts were somewhat unwound by a determined Peri Campbell-Innes who stole victory over Tan in the 7th set.

Great matches on the first day, leaving wide open anticipation for tomorrow's matches. The New Zealanders and Australians will clash with Yi-Sien Lin set to come up against both David Powell and William Henzell while Phillip Xiao will face Justin Han and Robert Frank. Very tough matches for both players but at the moment they stand tied 1st in their groups. Chunli still has Vivian Tan and Jian Fang Lay to get through before she can think about victory. Best of luck to all the New Zealand players!


Full Results HERE