Australia denied trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in both finals en route to winning the VICTOR Oceania Men’s & Women’s Team Championships in Geelong today, keeping the titles won in Ballarat four years ago.

With the winners gaining berths at the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 in April in Chengdu, China, the atmosphere was electric from the start.

The first match lasted three games and exceeded 55 minutes – Kiwi Ricky Cheng defeating Jacob Schueler 21-15 14-21 21-19.

Australia went 2-1 ahead through second and third singles Ricky Tang and Jack Yu’s straight games wins before Adam Jeffrey/Dylan Soedjasa threatened to make it uncomfortable for the hosts against Kenneth Zhe/Rayne Wang. Despite their best efforts, they fell 24-26 21-15 10-21. Tang and Yu combined to take the final match for a 4-1 overall win.

Earlier in the day, the Aussies won the women’s event 5-0.

With the exception of the third singles – the final match of the tie – which Sydney Tjonadi won 21-12 16-21 22-20 over 14-year-old Yanxi Liu, Australia aced all the clashes in straight games and under 37 minutes.

Badminton Australia CEO TJ Weistra praised New Zealand for their grit.

“New Zealand fought hard, especially in the men’s tie with some close matches. There’s a reason why we keep that Australia-New Zealand rivalry going as much as we can. It’s always been there, and it lifts the standards of everybody,” Weistra told Badminton Oceania.

Meanwhile, Tahiti took bronze beating Cook Islands 5-0 for their first ever medal in the women’s event.

→ Full Results (Men’s)

→ Full Results (Women’s)