Waitakere has won badminton’s provincial team championships, the prestigious Wisden Cup, after victories in all five of their contests on their home courts to seal the title they last won in 2009.

Things weren’t easy for Waitakere to take the title as they were pushed in the final round by the Auckland No1 side with matches almost been shared in singles. Joe Wu, Geoff Bellingham and Chance Cheng won men’s singles for the home side while Rowena Devathasan and Angie Leung captured wins for Auckland in the women’s singles.

Two of the most vital wins for Waitakere came in the mixed as former Kiwi international Bellingham paired with young Australian player, Tara Pilven to beat Brent Miller and Leung in three games while Cheng combined with former Korean Olympian Ji Hyun Marr to account for Jie Yang and Devathasan. Auckland had initial high hopes of competing for the title, however they finished in fourth place overall.

The 2012 champions, Waikato beat North Harbour 12-4 in their final round match to seal second place with Kiwi international Oliver Leydon-Davis, Michael Fowke and Australian Renuga Veeran all winning their three matches. Meanwhile Southland starved off relegation in with a tight win over Auckland No2 team 9-7 meaning the Auckland second team will go down to Slazenger Cup and be replaced by Waitakere who were unbeaten in Slazenger Cup.

Waitakere using the experience of former Kiwi No1 Nick Hall won the Slazenger Cup with a 12-4 victory over Bay of Plenty. Wellington North were second after they beat Canterbury and North Harbour defeated Otago.

Results Wisden Cup and Slazenger Cup from Waitakere:
Wisden Cup final round.
Waikato 12 North Harbour 4, Southland 9 Auckland(2) 7, Waitakere 9 Auckland(1) 7.  
Final placings:
Waitakere, 1, Waikato, 2, North Harbour, 3, Auckland(1) 4, Southland, 5, Auckland(2) 6.
Slazenger Cup final round.
Waitakere 12 Bay of Plenty 4,  North Harbour 14 Otago 2, Wellington North 10 Canterbury 6.
Final placings:
Waitakere, 1, Wellington North, 2, North Harbour, 3, Canterbury, 4 , Bay of Plenty, 5, Otago, 6.

Home side Waitakere look set to win badminton’s provincial team championships, the Wisden Cup, after winning their fourth contest in a row and now knowing that only a big upset could hold them back from the title they last won in 2009.

Waitakere put away the previously unbeaten North Harbour 11-5 and were again led by its men’s singles players, Geoff Bellingham, Luke Charlesworth, Chance Chenge and Joe Wu who all won in straight games. The only singles success for North Harbour was in the women’s No3 singles as Variella Putri defeated Aishwarya Nair in straight games.

Meanwhile defending champs, Waikato dropped just one match as they accounted for Southland 15-1. Southland won the second women’s singles thanks to Aussie import Vinning Mak beating Felcitiy Leydon-Davis 22-20 in the final game. Meanwhile big brother, Oliver Leydon-Davis won his singles, then men’s doubles with Michael Fowke and mixed with Tracey Hallam.

In the battle between the two Auckland sides it was the top team which won easily 15-1 to still remain on six points in joint equal place with North Harbour.

In Slazenger Cup top seeds Wellington North were beaten 12-4 by Waitakere who now have eight points, two ahead of the team they beat. North Harbour and Canterbury both had easy wins over Bay of plenty and Otago respectively.

The final round robin matches start at 10am for Slazenger Cup and 3pm for Wisden Cup on Saturday with Waitakere playing Auckland(1), North Harbour face Waikato and  Auckland 2 take on Southland in the dead rubber all at the Waitakere badminton centre.

Results Wisden Cup and Slazenger Cup from Waitakere:
Wisden Cup round four.
Auckland(1) 15 Auckland(2) 1,  Waikato 15 Southland 1, Waitakere 11 North Harbour 5.  
Slazenger Cup round three.
Waitakere 12 Wellington North 4,  North Harbour 11 Bay of Plenty 5, Canterbury 14 Otago 2.

The chance of Waikato retaining its title and winning four in a row at badminton’s provincial team championships, the Wisden Cup stalled after a loss to the local team on the second day of competition which is being played at Waitakere.

Waitakere won all four men’s singles thanks to Geoff Bellingham, Luke Charlesworth, Chance Cheng at No4, three and two respectively while in the top singles Kiwi No1 Joe Wu beat Michael Fowke 21-15 22-20.

Renuga Veeran the Australian import won two of her three matches for Waikato beating countrywoman, Tara Pilven in singles and teaming with former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Tracey Hallam to defeat Ji Hyun Marr and Pei Hsin Chiang in straight games. However in the mixed with TJ Weistra they lost in three games to Cheng and Marr 21-7 18-21 13-21.

North Harbour once again showed strength in their female players by winning all four singles as well as both women’s doubles as they beat the Auckland second team 11-5 while the Auckland top team accounted for Southland with the loss of just three matches, two of which came from its young Aussie players Joy Lai and Vinning Mak while homegrown Southland player James Euson beat Auckland’s Samuel Ho in the top men’s singles.

In Slazenger Cup top seeds Wellington North scored another victory, this time over Otago while other winners were Waitakere 2 and Canterbury.

The third round robin matches start at 3pm Wednesday with Waitakere who now looking like tournament favourites taking on Southland while second placed North Harbour play Auckland 1 and Waikato will try and recoup after their loss when the play Auckland 2. North Harbour plays Auckland 2 and Auckland 1 faces Southland. The tournament runs until Saturday at the Waitakere badminton centre.

Results Wisden Cup and Slazenger Cup from Waitakere:
Wisden Cup round two.
North Harbour 11 Auckland(2) 5, Auckland(1) 13 Southland 3, Waitakere 11 Waikato 5.
Slazenger Cup round two.
Wellington North 13 Otago 1, Waitakere 11 North Harbour 3, Canterbury 9 Bay of Plenty 4.

Waikato started its quest for four titles in a row in badminton’s provincial team championships, the Wisden Cup with a solid 10-6 victory over Auckland 1 on the first day of the competition which is being played at Waitakere.

In a competition which has plenty of overseas talent playing in all teams, the side team easily disposed of Auckland 2 dropping just two matches along the way, while North Harbour also had an easy victory over Southland.

Waikato won all four of the men’s singles in its victory over Auckland but split the women’s singles two apiece. One of the feature matches had former Chinese international Li Feng representing Auckland team up with Angie Leung to defeat former Commonwealth Games gold medalist for England, Tracey Hallam and Amanda Brown 13-21 21-16 16-21. The Waikato brother sister pair of Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis won their match over a strong pairing of Henry Tam and Lilian Shih 21-16 21-16.

For North Harbour the recruiting of Indonesian Ganis Nurahmandani Southland gained points  successful as she won all three of her matches for her team. Southland gained three of its points in men’s singles with victories to James Eunson, Nic Raines and Maoni Huhe.

As expected the strong Waitakere team featuring some of New Zealand’s most experienced former internationals such as Geoff Bellingham and Dan Shirley dominated Auckland 2 dropping just one women’s singles and one mixed.

In Slazenger Cup Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and Wellington North were all first round winners.

The second round robin matches start at 3pm Wednesday with Waikato and Waitakere playing in the highlight match. North Harbour plays Auckland 2 and Auckland 1 faces Southland. The tournament runs until Saturday at the Waitakere badminton centre.

Results:
Wisden Cup round one.
North Harbour 11 Southland 5, Waitakere 14 Auckland (2) 2, Waikato 10 Auckland (1) 6,
Slazenger Cup round one.
Canterbury 14 Waitakere 2, Bay of Plenty 10 Otago 6, Wellington North 12 North Harbour 2.

Badminton’s national provincial teams championships get underway today in Waitakere in the prestigious Wisden and Slazenger Cup competitions. But for what is a New Zealand tournament there’s a very strong international flavor with at least seven different nationalities represented in the six teams in the premier Wisden Cup.

Waikato are aiming for a fourth triumph in a row in Wisden Cup and have recruited well with one of Australia’s best, Renuga Veeran joining a team which already includes former Commonwealth Games singles gold medalist from 2006 in Melbourne, Tracey Hallam who originates from Britain but now resides in the Waikato.

There’s also the Leydon-Davis family, Oliver and Susannah who are New Zealand reps and recently made it through a round at the world champs as well as younger sister Felicity in the team. The remaining female players, Amanda Brown and Madeleine Stapleton are both New Zealand team members. Former national coach, TJ Weistra as well as top local players Michael Fowke, Asher Richardson and James Paterson make up the team.

Waikato play Auckland 1 in the first round robin match this afternoon from 3pm with Waitakere playing Auckland 2 while North Harbour and Southland clash. All Wisden Cup matches start at 3pm each day through until the final round robin on Saturday.

Hosts Waitakere are strong with the inclusion of several current and former internationals with Joe Wu leading the men along with Geoff Bellingham, Dan Shirley, Chance Cheng and Luke Charlesworth. Their women’s side has former Korean Olympic medalist Ji Hyun and Australian rep Tara Pilven

North Harbour are very strong on their women’s side through a couple of Indonesian players plus the return of former Kiwi rep Jessica Jonggowisastro and top locals Vicky Copeland and Anona Pak

Southland have former local player James Eunson returning as well former international Dean Galt. Australia’s Vinning Mak also joins the team while Auckland have two teams in Wisden Cup. The No1 team features former internationals Li Feng originally from China and Donna Halliday.

In the Slazenger Cup the top seeded team looking for promotion to Wisden Cup is Wellington North which features strong junior players Elliott Pike and Alyse Derby. Canterbury are seeded second.

New Zealand’s time at the Badminton World Championship in Guangzhou, China has come to an end as Kiwi players found themselves beaten by highly ranked opponents on day two of the tournament overnight.

Waikato brother and sister Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis were defeated by the world No7 Thai pair, Sudket Prapakamo and Saralee Thoungthongkam 21-8 21-11 in 26 minutes in the second round of competition. The Kiwis are ranked 52nd in the world and had won their first round match the previous day over an Egyptian pair in straight sets.

Oliver Leydon-Davis then teamed up with Auckland’s Kevin Dennerly-Minturn which saw the 72nd ranked pair take on the 20th ranked team, Ingo Kindervater and Johannes Schoettler from Germany in the men’s doubles first round. The Germans eventually coming out the winners by a score of 21-18 21-11 in 25 minutes.

The World Championships run from August 5-11 in the 10,000 seat capacity TianHe Indoor Gymnasium, Guangzhou with around 400 of the world best players entered in the event.

The majority of the New Zealand players will return after the world champs to play in the New Zealand provincial teams event, the Wisden Cup to be held at Waitakere, 13-17 August.

The best performance by New Zealanders at the world champs came in 2005 in Anaheim, Los Angeles when Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen won a bronze medal in the mixed competition.

Badminton World Championships Results (New Zealand results only. New Zealand unless named)
Men’s doubles first round: Ingo Kindervater/Johannes Schoettler (Germany) bt Kevin Dennerly-Minturn/Oliver Leydon-Davis 21-13 21-14
Mixed doubles second round: Sudket Prapakamo/Saralee Thoungthongkam (Thailand) bt Oliver Leydon-Davis/Susannah Leydon-Davis 21-8 21-11

Waikato brother and sister Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis have scored a good win in the Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou, China overnight to move into the second round of the mixed doubles.

The remainder of the Kiwis on day one were beaten by much higher ranked opponents including New Zealand’s top singles player, Joe Wu who found himself defeated by world No7 Tien Minh Nguyen from Vietnam 21-8 21-7.

The Leydon-Davis duo scored a straight game victory over Egyptians, Mahmoud El Sayad and Nadine Ashraf 21-18 21-16 in the first round. However the task doesn’t get easier for the Kiwi pair as they now face the seventh seeded Thai pair  Sudket Prapakamo and Saralee Thoungthongkam. The Kiwis are currently ranked 52 in the world.

Oliver Leydon-Davis will play twice on the second day of the Championship with the mixed second round and when he teams up with Kevin Dennerly-Minturn (Auckland) in the men’s doubles first round and takes on Germans, Ingo Kindervater and Johannes Schoettler who are ranked at 20 in the world. The New Zealanders currently sit at 72nd.

New Zealand’s two women’s doubles teams had tough matches on day one of the event with Southland’s Anna Ranking and Madeleine Stapleton (Waikato) beaten by the world No21 pair from Japan, Yuriko Miki and Koharu Yonemoto 21-8 21-7, while Amanda Brown (Waikato) and Kritteka Gregory (Waitakere) lost to the Malaysian top 30 ranked pair Hui Ern Ng and Hui Lin Ng  bt 21-9 21-8

The World Championships run from August 5-11 in the 10,000 seat capacity TianHe Indoor Gymnasium, Guangzhou with around 400 of the world best players entered in the event.

The majority of the New Zealand players will return after the world champs to play in the New Zealand provincial teams event, the Wisden Cup to be held at Waitakere, 13-17 August.

The best performance by New Zealanders at the world champs came in 2005 in Anaheim, Los Angeles when Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen won a bronze medal in the mixed competition.

Badminton World Championships Results (New Zealand results only. New Zealand unless named)
Oliver Leydon-Davis/Susannah Leydon-Davis bt Mahmoud El Sayad/Nadine Ashraf (Egypt) 21-18 21-16
Yuriko Miki/Koharu Yonemoto (Japan) bt Anna Rankin/Madeleine Stapleton 21-8 21-7
Hui Ern Ng/Hui Lin Ng (Malaysia)  bt Amanda Brown/Kritteka Gregory 21-9 21-8
(7)Tien Minh Nguyen (Vietnam) bt Joe Wu 21-8 21-11

The New Zealand contingent of players set to take part in this week’s Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou, China, starting tomorrow (Monday 5 August), have a daunting task ahead of them with the luck of the draw against Kiwis.

The August 5-11 tournament features international sporting starts such as world No1 men’s singles player Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia and Long Chen from China and is played in the 10,000 seat capacity TianHe Indoor Gymnasium with around 400 of the world best players who have to be within certain world rankings to make the main draw of their competition.

New Zealand has eight competitors in four of the five draws, however it will be a tough ask for either Joe Wu (Northland), Kevin Dennerly-Minturn (Auckland), Kritteka Gregory (Waitakere), Anna Rankin (Southland), Oliver Leydon-Davis, Susannah Leydon-Davis, Amanda Brown and Madeleine Stapleton, all Waikato, to make a big impression.

Wu has drawn the short straw and will face the seventh seed Tien Minh Nguyen from Vietnam in the first round of the men’s singles while in the men’s doubles, the pairing of Dennerly-Minturn and Leydon-Davis take on the Germans, Ingo Kindervater and Johannes Schoettler who are ranked at 20 in the world. The Kiwis currently sit at 72nd.

Oliver Leydon-Davis will combine with his sister, Susannah  in the mixed competition where they face an Egyptian pair, Mahmoud El Sayad and Nadine Ashraf. The Kiwis are currently 52 in the world with the Egyptians 159th in the latest rankings.

The women’s doubles combinations have tough tasks in their matches as Brown and Gregory who have a ranking of 86 and  play a Malaysian pair Hui Ern Ng and Hui Lin Ng who are 26th, while Rankin and Stapleton at 102nd face the Japan’s team of Yuriko Miki and Koharu Yonemoto ranked 21st in the world

The majority of the New Zealand players will return after the world champs to play in the New Zealand provincial teams event, the Wisden Cup to be held at Waitakere, 13-17 August.

The best performance by New Zealanders at the world champs came in 2005 in Anaheim, Los Angeles when Dan Shirley and Sara Runesten-Petersen won a bronze medal in the mixed competition.

New Zealand has been beaten by Australia 4-1 in badminton’s Whyte Trophy trans-Tasman bi-annual teams competition.

Played at North Harbour  Australia started strongly by winning the men’s doubles as Oliver Leydon-Davis and Kevin Dennerly-Minturn appeared defensive against their attacking opponents and were beaten in straight games by Australian Olympian Glenn Warfe and Raymond Tam.

The next match featured Southland’s Anna Rankin in the women’s singles. In a contest which lasted 42 minutes Rankin battled hard and looked like taking the first game but was eventually beaten 24-22 21-17 by Tara Pilven.

New Zealand’s Joe Wu easily won the men’s singles over Ashwant Gobinathan in straight games to keep the home team in the hunt. However the women’s doubles pairing of Kritteka Gregory (Waitakere) and Waikato’s Amanda Brown lost to Gronya Sommervill andJacqueline Guan 15-21 12-21 to secure Australia the overall victory and a 19-17 head-to-head lead overall dating back to the first match in 1938.

In the dead mixed doubles the brother and sister pair of Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis lost a hard-fought match 21-19 21-19 to Ross Smith and Renuga Veeran.

The win meant Australia were able to retain the Whyte Trophy after previously winning in Ballarat in 2011 also by a scoreline of 4-1.

All players now take part in the Fernbaby Auckland International running through Thursday until the finals on Sunday.

Whyte Trophy, North Harbour
Results (New Zealand names first):
Men’s doubles: Oliver Leydon-Davis/Kevin Dennerly-Minturn lt Glenn Warfe/Raymond Tam 18-21 11-21,
Women’s singles: Anna Rankin  lt Tara Pilven 22-24 17-21,
Men’s singles: Joe Wu bt Ashwant Gobinathan 21-17 21-12,
Women’s doubles: Kritteka Gregory/Amanda Brown lt Gronya Sommerville/Jacqueline Guan 15-21 12-21,
Mixed doubles: Oliver Leydon-Davis/Susannah lt Ross Smith/Renuga Veeran 19-21 19-21.

Trans-Tasman rivalry comes to head when New Zealand and Australia battle for badminton’s Whyte Trophy this Wednesday at the North Harbour Badminton Centre and again later in the week at the Auckland Badminton International.

First played for in 1938 the Whyte Trophy has seen some classic contests in what is a bi-yearly competition and is always closely fought. This year it will feature a men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and one mixed doubles. The last time the sides met was in 2011 in Ballarat where Australia won the one-off contest 4-1 . Prior to 2011 New Zealand had dominated the competition for 14 years

Currently Australia leads 18 wins to 17in head-to-head contests.

Following the next day from Whyte Trophy is the Auckland Badminton International sponsored by Fernbaby at Gillies Ave, Thursday 20 - Sunday  23 June.

The tournament will have all of the New Zealand and Australian players plus a number from other nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, England, Vietnam, United States, Philippines and the Pacific Islands.

In 2012 New Zealand players put in good performances at the tournament with Kevin Dennerly-Minturn and Oliver Leydon-Davis winning the men’s doubles while Amanda Brown and Kritteka Gregory were women’s doubles finalists. The Kiwi pairs are top seeds in their respective draws although the women’s doubles is expected to be particularly close with former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tracey Hallam teaming with Australian national rep, Renuga Veeran.

Other top teams include Australians, Jacqueline Guan and Gronya Sommerville as second seeds along with a Vietnamese combination as well as an Indonesian pair.

Kiwi No1 Joe Wu is the men’s singles top seed, however he will most likely come up against a relative unknown Malaysian player in the second round. Two other regular visitor from Malaysia, Yogendran Khrishan and Wei Jian Ai are also expected to be challengers for the title.

Southland’s Anna Rankin heads the women’s singles, however she has Australia’s Tara Pilven and Brit, Hallam in her half of the draw. New Zealand national singles champion Vicki Copeland (North Harbour) and Auckland’s Lilian Shih are two other home players of note in the women’s singles.

The mixed doubles draw is headed by the Waikato brother and sister pair of Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis, but there is plenty of competition from Australian combinations as well as well as Kiwi teams.

With Leydon-Davis and Dennerly-Minturn aiming to defend their doubles title one new pair which could be of interest is the Australian player Ross Smith teaming with former top British junior Robin Middleton who is hoping to represent Australia in the future.

Rounding out the top four seeds are Ross Smith and Renuga Veeran from Australia along with Raymond Tam and Gronya Sommerville as well as Kiwis Dennerly-Minturn and Gregory.

The Whyte Trophy New Zealand versus Australia mixed teams event is being held Wednesday 19 June at North Harbour Badminton Centre, from 5.30pm while the Fernbaby Auckland International
commences Thursday 20 June from 4pm with the finals Sunday 23 June from 11am.

Whyte Trophy teams:
New Zealand: Joe Wu(Northland), Oliver Leydon-Davis(Waikato), Kevin Dennerly-Minturn(Auckland), Anna Rankin(Southland), Amanda Brown(Waikato), Kritteka Gregory(Waikatere), Susannah Leydon-Davis(Waikato)
Australia: Ashwant Gobinathan, Ross Smith, Raymond Tam, Glenn Warfe, Joy Lai, Tara Pilven, Renuga Veeran, Gronya Sommerville.

New Zealand is through to the final of the 2013 Oceania Junior U19 Teams Badminton Championships after scoring an easy 5-0 over the home nation’s top team, Tahiti 1 at Papeete, Tahiti. 

The contest was more difficult than the first days play where the Kiwis took under 20 minutes each match to account for the Tahiti 2 team.

This time one match stretched to 31 minutes as Daniel Lee from Auckland beat Remi Rossi in the men’s singles 21-18 21-11. All matches where won in straight games, although the men’s doubles featuring the duo from the capital, Jacob Morgan and Elliott Pike were on court for 27 minutes in their 21-13 21-17 win.

The most clear cut victory was in the women’s doubles where Alyse Derby (Wellington North) and Rebecca Goddard (North Harbour) won in 17 minutes over Anais Anton and Kahaia Salmon 21-10 21-10.

In the final the Kiwis play Australia who have also beaten both home teams. The teams event is followed by the individual tournament at the same location.

Results:
New Zealand bt Tahiti (1) 5-0, New Zealand names first.
Mixed doubles: Dylan Soedjasa/Alyse Derby bt Antoine Beabois/Anais Anton 21-17 21-14,
Men’s singles: Daniel Lee bt Remi Rossi 21-18 21-11,
Women’s singles: Kaitly Mcleod bt Coralie Bouttin 21-12 21-11,
Men’s dobules: Jacob Morgan/Elliot Pike bt Remi Rossi/Antonie Beaubois 21-13 21-17,
Women’s doubles Alyse Derby/Rebecca Goddard bt Anais Anton/Kahaia Salmon 21-10 21-10.

The New Zealand women’s doubles pair of Amanda Brown (Waikato) and Waitakere’s Kirtteka Gregory have come up just short at the US$15,000 Tahiti Badminton International Challenge tournament in Punaauia, Tahiti.
Brown and Gregory had won through to the title playoff after beating a French combination in the semifinals but were defeated in straight games by the world No43 ranked team from Canada, Nicole Grether and Charmaine Reid. 21-4 21-11 in the final.
It is the second time the Kiwi pair have been runners-up in an international tournament after being beaten in the Auckland International final last year. However the Kiwis will have picked up some valuable ranking points in their quest to qualify for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and time on court heading into representing New Zealand at the Sudirman Cup in Malaysia next month.
Meanwhile in the mixed doubles the Waikato brother and sister pair of Oliver and Susannah Leydon-Davis lost to Dutchman, Rudd Bosch and Thai, Salakjit Ponsana 21-10 20-22 21-15 in 43 minutes.
The majority New Zealand players will be back on court in June as they take on Australia in a one-off Whyte Trophy test match at North Harbour followed by the Auckland International.
US$15,000 Tahiti Badminton International Challenge Results:
Women’s doubles final: Nicole Grether/Charmaine Reid (Canada) bt Amanda Brown/Kritteka Gregory (New Zealand) 21-4 21-11.
Mixed doubles semifinal: Rudd Bosch (Netherlands)/Salakjit Ponsana (Thailand) bt Oliver Leydon-Davis/Susannah Leydon-Davis (New Zealand) 21-10 20-22 21-15