Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open: Tournament Preview

The Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open kicks off on Thursday, with the event seeing 40 players descend on the North Shore Squash Club in the New Zealand city for the Challenger 5 and 3 level events.

The tournament, which will run for four days, finishing on Sunday, May 22, will feature a 24-strong Challenger 5 even men’s draw, and a 16-strong Challenger 3 level women’s event, both of which will be filled with players from just five nations.

Unsurprisingly, there will be a lot of Australian and New Zealand representation in the tournament, with the leading trio in the men’s draw all hailing from the host nation. Lwamba and Temwa Chileshe, who battled it out in the final of the Barfoot & Thompson Panmure Open last weekend, will be the top two seeds, with Zac Millar joining them as the No.3 seed.

Malaysia’s Wee Ming Hock, Duncan Lee and Hafiz Zhafri, along with Anthony Lepper and Sion Wiggin, another pair of Kiwis, will make up the rest of the top eight seeds for the competition, while there will also be Australian and Singaporean representation in the men’s draw.

Abbie Palmer and Ella Lash will be the top two seeds for the women’s event, and will have the home crowds behind them, but they will face tough competition from the Malaysian trio of Vinikashenie and Vitrikashenie Kulasegaran, and Shasmithaa Nityanandan.

Men’s First Round Draw: Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open
[1] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) – [Bye]
Allan Bailey (NZL) v [9/16] Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS)
[9/16] Damon Macmillan (AUS) v Oliver Dunbar (NZL)
[6] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) – [Bye]
[7] Anthony Lepper (NZL) – [Bye]
Paul Moran (NZL) v [9/16] Andrik Lim (MAS)
[9/16] Amir Amirul (MAS) v Apa Fatialofa (NZL)
[4] Wee Ming Hock (MAS) – [Bye]
[3] Zac Millar (NZL) – [Bye]
Jerome Aw (SGP) v [9/16] Glenn Templeton (NZL)
[9/16] Elijah Thomas (NZL) v Chris van der Salm (NZL)
[5] Duncan Lee (MAS) – [Bye]
[8] Sion Wiggin (NZL) – [Bye]
Michael Shelton Agar (NZL) v [9/16] Mason Smales (NZL)
[9/16] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) v Tom Marshall (NZL)
[2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open
[1] Abbie Palmer (NZL) v Sophie Fadaely (AUS)
Darsyanaa Ravintharan (MAS) v [6] Katie Templeton (NZL)
[8] Wing Hei Jannis Lam (HKG) v Rachel McLeod (NZL)
Jena Gregory (NZL) v [4] Shasmithaa Nityanandan (MAS)
[3] Vinikashenie Kulasegaran (MAS) v Anne Leakey (NZL)
Maiden-Lee Coe (NZL) v [5] Vitrikashenie Kulasegaran (MAS)
[7] Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) v Diana Galloway (NZL)
Lana Harrison (NZL) v [2] Ella Lash (NZL)