by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
Represented by Vong Hui Ling and Zhou Jiayi, New Zealand accounted for the outfit formed by Malaysia’s Alice Chang Li Sian who partnered the Cook Islands’ Ngamata Moekka; a three-two margin of victory was the end result.
Thorn in the side of the New Zealand trio was Alice Chang Li Sian; she overcame both Zhou Jiayi (11-4, 11-6, 11-6) and Vong Hui Ling (11-4, 11-9, 11-7). Defeat for Zhou Jiayi but she was to emerge the player to secure victory for her team; in the vital concluding fifth match of the fixture, she beat Ngamata Moekka (11-3, 11-2, 11-4).
Likewise it was a hard fought opening win for the Fiji Islands; a full distance five match success against Australia’s Parleen Kaur and Danni-Elle Townsend was the order of proceedings. Mainstay of the Fiji victory was Grace Rosi Lee, in the opening match of the fixture she beat Danni-Elle Townsend (15-13, 11-13, 12-14, 11-5, 11-9), prior to in the concluding contest of the engagement overcoming Parleen Kaur (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
The one remaining success for the Fijians was secured in the second match of the fixture when Sally Yee accounted for Parleen Kaur (11-8, 2-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7).
A fine start for the New Zealanders, in their second contest of the day they continued in a winning vein; they recorded a three-nil win against Australia who added Michelle Wu to their ranks. Conversely for Fiji, they experienced a three-nil defeat when facing the Chinese combination of Dai Tan, Yang Hangguo and Zhu Xueyi.
Meanwhile, in the Cadet Girls’ Team event, play also organised on a group all-play-all basis, in the fixtures completed, the Fiji Islands represented by Loata Duncan and Filomena Duncan beat New Zealand’s Lydia Mercer-Beumelburg and Emily Jin by three matches to two, before the latter duo recovered to record a three-one success in opposition to the combination of New Caledonia’s Lorie La and the host’s Marenga Tua.
Play in the Junior Girls’ Team and Cadet Girls’ Team events, concludes on Tuesday 5th June.
