The Kiwis have landed in Sydney for the Sathio Australian Badminton Open. The team has had a packed schedule, flying straight from the Wisden Cup to Australia in less than five hours.
The Kiwis had a practice session at the main hall at the Quaycentre Sydney Olympic Park - “The stadium is huge, so there’s a different feel to how rallies play out. It’s not often we get a chance to compete at a Super 500, so I’m looking forward to being on court and taking in the experience.” - Dylan Soedjasa.
First to compete in the Australian Open will be Edward Lau in the Men's Singles Qualification against Australia’s Ken Richardson. Edward shared, “We got to train at the main hall yesterday to adjust to the stadium and the shuttles, and I’m feeling good going into this match. I’m excited to be playing in my first Super 500 tournament.”
Edward Lau is coming in as a strong contender to represent New Zealand, having a phenomenal result from the 2024 Oceania Championships in the Men's Singles, we look forward to see what how he performs throughout the tournament.
Later in the afternoon, Rizky and Putra, the reigning Australian National Champions, will face off against New Zealand's top doubles pair, Dylan Soedjasa and Adam Jeffrey. This promises to be an exciting match! Adam noted, “Playing in the main hall yesterday was good, but I’m not used to playing with a drift, so that’s something I need to think about.” Dylan added, “It's always challenging to play new opponents as we will have to make quick adjustments during the match.”
Mixed Doubles matches will be played on Wednesday. Stay tuned and follow the results here.