Do or Dye Gameplay Ends in Gold

The Over 30 events saw some newcomers to the table this year, but it proved to be the steady old timer in the mens who saw it out, do or Dye style. Top seed for the 30s event was Canterbury's Yi-Sien Lin, the hot favourite with his all out attacking on both wings and inspiring backhand looping and punching.

The group stages in the mens were a complete shambles, seedings upset in groups left, right and centre. Hoa Ngo emerged 2nd in his group after a 3-0 win over William Weinstock, Rong Chen upset Xiaojian Sha to go through first in his group, Craig Dye won his group after beating Zhang Nan 3-0 and Bozidar Zutic surprised his group's Chinese top seed with a 3-2 win.

Yi-Sien Lin top seed, ousted in O30 semifinals
Image courtesy of Murray Finch

Being the 30s event ironically 3-0 was the number on everyone's minds. Xiaojian Sha and Xue Feng emerged through to the quarterfinals by that exact margin, straight sets over Boz Zutic and Hoa Ngo respectively. It didn't stop there, all of the quarterfinal matches were also won 3-0 with Yi-Sien Lin beating Zhang Nan, Xiaojian Sha beating Zhang Lin, Craig Dye toppling Xue Feng and Rong Chen taking out Tomasz Koscik.

Craig Dye continued the trend with a 3-0 win over Rong Chen to book his place in the final. The other side of the draw proved to be the truly entertaining battle in the semifinals.

Yi-Sien Lin held a 2-0 lead early on, some lucky saves coupled with great short play and superb opening and follow-up shots allowed him to capture those sets 11-9 and 12-10. The match heated up and continued to be ridiculously close, in fact the next 3 sets were won also 11-9, 12-10 and 11-9. They were won by Xiaojian Sha as he held on and fought back. The points towards the end of each set were crucial to the match and the Chinese opponent played some spectacular shots. Despite Yi-Sien's best efforts the match just pulled away from him and he bowed out of his over 30s debut in the semifinals.

The event was far from over however. Xiaojian Sha went head to head with Craig Dye. Do or Dye was the motto, Craig played amazingly. Committing to a fine balance of high risk and finesse, it was Dye who assumed control in the match, causing issues for his opponent with his long pips, while also combining that with devastating attacking shots, even flipping his bat to move in for winning backhand loops. Leading the game 2-0 we waited to see if the same fate would come to Craig Dye as had to Yi-Sien. For a moment it looked like the match could head that way, with Sha taking a set 11-4, but Craig held steady and played even harder in the final set to win it 11-6. 3-1 the final result and the Over 30s Gold Medal and title for Craig Dye! Congratulations Craig!

Catherine Zhou wins the Over 30 Women's Singles
Image courtesy of Murray Finch

The Over 30 women's event comprised of just 3 players, a tight knit group of Catherine Zhou, Kadia Keller-Rice and Gina Liu. It was Catherine who led out early winning her first match 3-1 over Gina Liu with some nervous moments in the beginning and the end of the match, but overall Cath looked confident as ever. The second match saw Gina Liu claim a 4 set win over Keller-Rice to level the playing field and see an all important 3rd match to define the results.

Catherine went out without looking back and played decisively and with confidence, sticking to her fast attacking strokes which are best known for finishing points for her. She took the match against Kadia in straight sets and took the gold medal in the over 30 women's singles in her first appearance in the event at the NZ Open. Congrats Cath! 

The mixed doubles went down to the wire with Julian Wootton and Kadia Keller-Rice narrowly missing out 11-9 in the 5th to a determined Stephen Hirst and Catherine Zhou while in the men's doubles it was Rong Chen and Tomasz Koscik who took the crown for the event. Well done guys! 

Phillip Xiao and Vicky Yang Claim Under 21 Crowns

In a day of fantastic matches, the Under 21 Mens Singles provided some of the most quality matches. Starting with the qualifying groups early in the morning. All groups went to plan save for Victor Ma stealing qualification away from Daniel Lowe with a 3-1 win and a countback in the last group after Victor Pollett won in 5 sets over Roger Rao, leaving Zhiyang Cheng to qualify first with Roger in 2nd.

Michael Fong-Ross in the Under 21 event
Image courtesy of Murray Finch

In the opening rounds of the main draw Victor Ma continued on his run with a narrow 3-2 win over Jonathan Wang, while Michael Fong-Ross beat Mitchell Barker by the same margin. All other players had bye rounds into the quarterfinal stages.

Kevin Wu and Oliver Scarlett were the big casualties in the quaterfinals. Kevin lost 3-1 at the hands of Roger Rao, while Michael Fong-Ross carried on his fantastic form to beat Oliver and go through to the semifinals. Phillip Xiao won 3-0 over Victor Ma while Yuansen Yao managed to overcome Zhiyang Cheng after a solid fight from his opposition which lasted 4 sets.

In the semifinals Phillip continued to show consistent performance on attack winning in straight sets against Roger Rao. The match quality in the semifinals provided great entertainment, particularly Michael Fong-Ross'  match with Yuansen Yao. 3-1 was the end score for the higher seeded player but it was a tight and competitive match with some class action and well played points. Fong-Ross played some dazzling counterloops but in the end Yao's consistency and tight service awarded him the win and a finals showdown with Phillip Xiao.

Phillip Xiao wins Under 21 Mens Singles
Image courtesy of Murray Finch

In the final it was a case of passive vs. aggressive. Phillip Xiao continued to play confidently as he had during the whole event. Being the aggressor brought results and with Yao playing slightly passively, perhaps due to finals nerves, it was Xiao who took the early advantage. That advantage never faded and though Yao fought back to win one set it was Phillip all the way, committing to early openings off the service and following through with strong attacking shots. 

Congratulations to Phillip for an outstanding performance. He also claimed a gold medal with Si Zhuo Huo in the 21 mixed and a silver medal in the Under 21 Mens Doubles with Kevin Wu, that event was won by the combination of Yuansen Yao and Oliver Scarlett in a 4 set match.

Vicky Yang wins the Under 21 Womens Singles
Image Courtesy of Murray Finch

In the Under 21 women's event the only stranger to the draw from the original seedings was Nai Xin Jiang, her 3-1 win against Angel Huang secured her the 2nd qualifying position from the group. 

In the main draw Ruofei Rao won 3-1 against Natalie Paterson to advance into the semifinals while Si Zhuo Huo also won over Nai Xin Jiang in 4 sets. The semifinals saw Vicky Yang beat Ruofei in straight sets with relative comfort while Sara Hu closed out some very close sets against Grace Huo to win her match in 4 sets.

The final between Sara Hu and Vicky Yang was a quality match, Sara having the lead on a few occasions but failing to close out the sets as Vicky overpowered her opponent. The second set saw Sara take her most substantial lead but still Vicky clenched on to defend her 2011 title and win the final 3-0. A comfortable win for the top seed. Congratulations to Vicky on both her gold medal in the singles and in the Under 21 Women's Doubles with Si Zhuo Huo!

Team 1 is Number 1 in Auckland vs Auckland Women's Team Clash

The Women's team event at the NZ Senior Championships hosted a quality group of the best players from around the country. With no Wellington or Manawatu teams this year the best of those regions were drafted with Natalie Paterson joining Otago and Catherine Zhou joining Waikato.

Auckland 2's Nai Xin Jiang
Image Courtesy of Murray Finch

No doubt the strongest team was clearly Auckland 1 with Vicky Yang, Sarah Her-Lee, Sara Hu and Si Zhuo Huo. They wasted no time in making that point clear. Their opening match against Auckland 2 was sealed 5-2, aside from the doubles and a great win for Nai Xin Jiang over Si Zhuo Huo, it was smooth sailing for Auckland 1 after a bumpy 5 setter to open with Ruofei Rao (Akl 2) putting up a fantastic fight against Sarah Her-Lee.

Natalie Paterson put up a great fight when Otago and Waikato clashed, winning both her singles against Catherine Zhou and Armindeep Singh. Waikato cleared the way in the rest of the matches all in straight sets to win 5-2. Natalie proved to be leading the way for the team, claiming their only win against Angel Huang in a 6-1 loss to Canterbury. The former World Ranked 156 defensive player, Timea Tapai forming a solid base of wins for the South Island team. 

Waikato went on to lead the way against Auckland 2, leading 3-2 after Jessica had a great 3-1 win over Sarah Sandley and Catherine won her 2 singles. Auckland 2 held steady and Sarah Sandley's win over Armindeep Singh and Nai Xin's win over Jessica ended in a 4-3 win for the second Auckland team.

Canterbury's Timea Tapai
Image Courtesy of Murray Finch

Auckland 1 dropped just a single match to Waikato, Catherine Zhou beating Sara Hu. With Vicky Yang stepping into this match there was more than enough skill on board for the top Auckland team, winning her 2 singles and a doubles with relative comfort. 

Auckland 2 won their next 2 matches, 4-3 over Canterbury, a tight fought battle with Timea again proving she had a skill level competent enough to win her games with relative ease. With the doubles also in the bag for Canterbury it was a hard fight for Auckland to come through in the end. They also beat Otago 6-1 with Natalie stepping up to beat Ruofei Rao.

Auckland 1 win Women's Team Event
Image Courtesy of Murray Finch

Auckland 1 were able to defeat Canterbury 5-2. Timea beating both Sarah Her-Lee (3-0) and Vicky Yang (3-1), a sure sign she will be out to win in the individual events. Angel Huang pushed Sara Hu to 5 sets in the final match of the round but was beaten when the pressure came on. Following that match, Waikato were also able to beat Canterbury 4-3, winning all the matches remaining after Timea had finished winning her 2 and the doubles with Angel Huang.

Auckland 1 danced into the final with a 7-0 win over Otago and were set to face Auckland 2 in the finals.

Despite their best efforts, Auckland 2 didn't get off to the start they may have wanted. Vicky Yang started off with a straight sets win over Sarah Sandley, followed by Sara Hu also winning her match against Nai Xin Jiang also 3-0. Ruofei Rao led Sarah Her-Lee 2-1 and held 4 match points in the 4th set before Sarah came back to win in the defining moments of the 5th set. With 3 matches in hand Auckland 1 proceeded confidently into the doubles and were able to win it 3-0. The end score 4-0 for Auckland 1.

Auckland Sweep NZ Men's Team Title

Once again at the NZ Senior Table Tennis Championships it was Auckland who claimed both the men's and women's team shields after convincing wins in the finals over opposing teams, Canterbury in the men's and Auckland 2 in the women's.

John Cordue for Canterbury 1
Photo Courtesy of Murray Finch

The road to the final was no stress for Auckland 1 with the strongest team in the country. They claimed a 7-0 win over Waikato in their first matchup, showing they were ready for business. Canterbury also won 7-0 over Wellington while Brad Chen saved 1 match for Xi'an to beat North Harbour 6-1. Manawatu who had won their grading match over Canterbury 2 fell 5-2 to Auckland 2, with Matt Ball leading a 3-0 win over Ben Collins and the reliable old team of Tim Seaholme and Matt Ball combining to win the doubles over Oliver Scarlett and Josh Alexandre.

Auckland 1's first appearance against Canterbury ended quickly with Teng Teng Liu, Phillip Xiao and Kevin Wu on good form, winning the initial 3 singles in straight sets then finishing the match off by winning the doubles. Kevin Wu was the only player not to substitute after the result and fell into the trap with a 3-1 loss to Yi-Sien Lin.

The outstanding result came from Auckland 2, Josh, Ollie and Wayne Gear combined to lead a 5-2 win over the visiting team from Xi'an, China. All 3 players shared a 3-0 win in one of their matches with Roger Rao subbing in for the doubles to win that and then Oliver winning his 2nd singles 3-1. A top result and a crucial one for the finals draw. Following that, Auckland 2 suffered defeated by North Harbour 4-3. Brad Chen won his 2 singles comfortably while Mitchell Barker won the final match against Josh Alexandre 3-0 to seal a 4-3 win for Harbour.

Teng Teng Liu for Auckland 1
Image Courtesy of Murray Finch

In the semifinals it was Auckland 1 sweeping Xi'an winning the first 3 singles, afterwhich the visiting team decided to call it quits. A 4-0 result and a place in the final. Canterbury 1 won 4-1 over Auckland 2, Josh Alexandre took his win over Malcolm Darroch in 5 sets.

The finals were a one way street for Auckland with plenty of fight from Canterbury. Malcolm Darroch lead out strongly in the start of each set against Phillip Xiao but was unable to close out towards the end, Phillip held himself confidently to win 3-0 and take the first match for Auckland. The 2nd match was pure entertainment, Yi-Sien Lin put up a great fight against Teng Teng Liu, losing 3-1 but having plenty of chance to go to 5. Unfortunately a fault serve at 11-10 up in the 4th cost him and despite having played some amazing backhands and putting some pressure on his opponent it was still Auckland who led 2-0. John Cordue bit back with a 3-1 win over Kevin Wu and in the doubles, 2 common partnerships clashed. John Cordue and Yi-Sien Lin being well known for pairing in Canterbury teams in the past, however the fresher team of Kevin Wu and Teng Teng Liu took the game with ease 3-0, Auckland needing just one more for victory. Phillip Xiao was the man to finish Canterbury off with a smashing 3-0 win over Yi-Sien Lin, a far cry from the 4-3 win months ago at the North Island Championships.

So again it is Auckland who hold the Men's Team Shield. Teng Teng Liu, Phillip Xiao, Kevin Wu, Zhiyang Cheng and Daniel Lowe (Auckland 1) are the winners of the 2012 NZ Senior Championships Men's A Grade Teams.

Draws out for NZ Champs, Seeds Poised to Strike

Just days away from the start of the team event for the New Zealand Senior Table Tennis Championships for 2012 and the Auckland Table Tennis Association have made all the preparations for the event, with the team draws, seedings and individual draws released to the players. The clash will begin for the individuals after the teams events and there will be hot competition.

Top seed Teng Teng Liu

In the mens seedings the top spot is held by defending champion Teng Teng Liu, who showed his class by dominating the field in Palmerston North last year. Phillip Xiao heads up the list at number 2, no doubt he will be looking to make a strong attempt to secure his first national men's title this year, after making the final in 2011. The first of the chinese players enter the seedings at number 3, Chang Bo and at number 4, Yuansen Yao. These players are bound to provide some exciting matches and a tough challenge for the top 2 seeds. It was almost surprising to see them in 3rd and 4th positions on the listings, we will have to see if they can project themselves even further up on the day. 

Without a doubt there will be other players outside the top 4 seedings looking to make a good case for the win also. John Cordue, coming back after time spent playing in Germany, has already won this year's Otago and Waikato Opens and made a great fight for the Wellington Open. Looking much sharper and more experienced out on the table, he is sure to have a fighting chance at cracking the top 4 if things go his way. Oliver Scarlett is also one to cause upsets and will be looking to do the same again, having had success this year at the North Island Championships where he won the under 21 Mens Singles and also in Nelson where he became the South Island Champion, he has played fantastically so far this year, having only lost a minimal number of matches in singles events. The field also comprises of Yi-Sien Lin, a NZ rep at the Olympic Qualification and top 10 rated player and a number of other quality opponents including more chinese players and last year's bronze medallist Zhiyang Cheng.

Cath Zhou

The women's field was headed by Commonwealth Champion Li Chunli who appears to have since withdrawn from the event for reasons unknown. Timea Tapai will move in as the tournament favourite . A defensive player formerly from Serbia where she had been top 200 in the world rankings, even had Chunli been in the draw, Timea would have posed a strong threat to her and all other opponents. Vicky Yang is the next challenger in the seedings. The winner of the Counties Open and Auckland Open, 2010 National Champion and runner up in 2011. With a strong gamestyle Vicky has a strong chance of making a great finish and having a go at winning the title again in 2012. Sarah Her-Lee is the last player to be seeded in the top 4, with her experience from playing in Germany and also her victories in Waikato and Otago, will she be able to make the distance to the final and beyond? Other competition comes from all corners with former Commonwealth Games rep Sophie Shu back in the field along with 2009 Commonwealth Championships representative Michelle Mccarthy, Catherine Zhou also joining the fight with other top 10 ranked women, the likes of Natalie Paterson, Jessica Macaskill and Armindeep Singh to make appearances. Sara Hu and Si Zhuo Huo are 2 new players from China who have proved they are tough opposition also, they have strong chances of progressing through the draw and should be watched closely.

It is positive to see a draw full of amazing table tennis players, especially in the women's draw this year, the competition will be fierce and the results unknown. Wednesday marks the start of the teams event and the excitement begins. Good luck to all competing, I look forward to seeing you all there :)