B&T Auckland Open: Chileshe Doubles Up, Harrison’s Maiden Title

The Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open came to a conclusion on Sunday at the North Shore Squash Club, with Lana Harrison and Lwamba Chileshe picking up the titles.

The Challenger 5 level men’s crown was taken by Lwamba Chileshe, as he doubled up after his victory at the Barfoot & Thompson Panmure Open last week, where he defeated younger brother Temwa Chileshe in the final.

The same would occur this week at North Shore Squash Club, with the World No.104 overcoming Australia’s Benjamin Ratcliffe in the second round, before then beating Malaysia’s Hafiz Zhafri and Amir Amirul to make it through to the final.

In a repeat of the same stage seven days earlier in Panmure, Chileshe took on his younger sibling for the title, and he fell behind on this occasion, with Temwa taking the first on a tie-break 12-10. However, from there it was all Lwamba, with the Kiwi winning the next three games comfortably, to secure his second title of the season.

The women’s event, which culminated in a Challenger 3 level prize, saw a surprise winner, with the unseeded Lana Harrison coming through the field, defeating both of the top two seeds, en route to the victory, what was her first on Tour.

She started off with a win over the tournament’s No.2 seed, Ella Lash, beating her fellow New Zealander in straight games inside half an hour, before then getting the better of No.7 seed Winona-Jo Joyce in the quarter finals to make it through to the last four.

In the semis, the Kiwi got the better of another compatriot, in the unseeded Maiden-Lee Coe, who had also taken down seeds to make the last four of the competition. However, it was Harrison who advanced, winning in three, to meet top seed Abbie Palmer in the final. Once again, she got the job done, taking down the top seed to secure her maiden crown.

Results: Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open
Men’s Final
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7

Women’s Final
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [1] Abbie Palmer (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-7

Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt Amir Amirul (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 (35m)
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt [5] Duncan Lee (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 (35m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt [4] Shasmithaa Nityanandan (MAS) 3-1: 11-4, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4 (40m)
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (35m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt [6] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) 3-1: 7-11, 11-2, 13-11, 11-5 (45m)
Amir Amirul (MAS) bt [7] Anthony Lepper (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 (40m)
[5] Duncan Lee (MAS) bt [3] Zac Millar (NZL) 3-2: 7-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (45m)
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt [8] Sion Wiggin (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt [6] Katie Templeton (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (35m)
[4] Shasmithaa Nityanandan (MAS) bt Rachel McLeod (NZL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (40m)
Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) bt Anne Leakey (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5 (35m)
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [7] Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 13-11 (35m)

Men’s Round Two
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) 3-1: 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8 (45m)
[6] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt Damon Macmillan (AUS): Walkover
[7] Anthony Lepper (NZL) bt Andrik Lim (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (35m)
Amir Amirul (MAS) bt [4] Wee Ming Hock (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-1 (35m)
[3] Zac Millar (NZL) bt Jerome Aw (SGP) 3-1: 11-6, 11-9, 11-13, 11-4 (45m)
[5] Duncan Lee (MAS) bt Chris van der Salm (NZL) 3-1: 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (35m)
[8] Sion Wiggin (NZL) bt Mason Smales (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (35m)
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (40m)

Women’s Round One
[1] Abbie Palmer (NZL) bt Sophie Fadaely (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-1 (30m)
[6] Katie Templeton (NZL) bt Darsyanaa Ravintharan (MAS) 3-2: 9-11, 14-12, 11-9, 10-12, 13-11 (45m)
Rachel McLeod (NZL) bt Wing Hei Jannis Lam (HKG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (35m)
[4] Shasmithaa Nityanandan (MAS) bt Jena Gregory (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (30m)
Anne Leakey (NZL) bt [3] Vinikashenie Kulasegaran (MAS) 3-2: 11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 (45m)
Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) bt [5] Vitrikashenie Kulasegaran (MAS) 3-1: 17-15, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)
[7] Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) bt Diana Galloway (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (30m)
Lana Harrison (NZL) bt [2] Ella Lash (NZL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (30m)

Men’s Round One
Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) bt Allan Bailey (NZL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (35m)
Damon Macmillan (AUS) bt Oliver Dunbar (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-7 (35m)
Andrik Lim (MAS) bt Paul Moran (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 (30m)
Amir Amirul (MAS) bt Apa Fatialofa (NZL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (30m)
Jerome Aw (SGP) bt Glenn Templeton (NZL) 3-1: 11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2 (40m)
Chris van der Salm (NZL) bt Elijah Thomas (NZL) 3-2: 10-12, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-8 (50m)
Mason Smales (NZL) bt Michael Shelton Agar (NZL) 3-0: 11-0, 9-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 (50m)
Nicholas Calvert (AUS) bt Tom Marshall (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-0 (35m)