Greater Shepparton International: Zhafri and Tse Claim Maiden Titles

It was a day of firsts on finals day at the City of Greater Shepparton International in Victoria, Australia, as Malaysia’s Hafiz Zhafri and Hong Kong’s Toby Tse look the victories to claim their maiden Tour titles on Sunday afternoon.

Hong Kong’s Tse came into the tournament as the No.3 seed, and she started her week with a tight four-game victory over compatriot Lam Po Ying, winning the third game 16-14 on her way to a 3-1 win. That was then followed by a convincing performance against last week’s surprise package Mingyeong Heo, winning in just 21 minutes.

Tse then took on No.2 seed Akari Midorikawa in the semi-final, with Japan’s No.2 having won the City of Greater Bendigo International just six days previously. However, it was the Hongkonger that took the win, again in four games, to advance to her second final on Tour.

In just her sixth event on Tour, the 17-year-old went on to claim her first Tour title, as she caused a big upset in the final, beating the tournament’s top seed, and World No.80, Sarah Cardwell, in straight games. The second game was crucial for Tse, as she took it 12-10 to maintain the momentum in the contest, before going on to win in three to claim her first silverware on Tour.

Meanwhile, Zhafri was the top seed for the men’s event, and the Malaysian started his campaign with one of the longest games of the tournament, losing his first game of the week 19-17 to Australia’s Dylan Molinaro. He fought back to win 3-1 in his first round contest to make it through to the last eight.

The Malaysian then took on the unseeded Aaron Liang, defeating the Singaporean in straight games in their quarter final, setting up a clash with Hong Kong’s Andes Ling in the semis. In the last four, Zhafri saw his opponent fight back from two games down, but he was able to regroup to win the fifth 11-7 to book his place in a first final on Tour.

In the final, the World No.233 took on Hong Kong’s Lam Shing Fung, the No.8 seed for the tournament, and a player who had already caused a couple of upsets en route to the final. However, there would be no surprise in the final, as top seed Zhafri won in straight games 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 to claim the first title of his career.

*Results: City of Greater Shepparton International*
*Men’s Final*
[1] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt [8] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 (30m)

*Women’s Final*
[3] Toby Tse (HKG) bt [1] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-6 (22m)

*Men’s Semi-Finals*
[8] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt [6] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 (25m)
[1] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt Andes Ling (HKG) 3-2: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 4-11, 11-7 (48m)

*Women’s Semi-Finals*
[1] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [4] Wai Sze Wing (HKG) 3-2: 11-8, 3-11, 5-11, 11-7, 13-11 (49m)
[3] Toby Tse (HKG) bt [2] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 (29m)

*Men’s Quarter Finals*
[8] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt [2] Shady El Sherbiny (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8 (35m)
[6] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) bt [3] Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-1: 12-10, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7 (39m)
Andes Ling (HKG) bt [5] Navaneeth Prabhu (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (29m)
[1] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt Aaron Liang (SGP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (26m)

*Women’s Quarter Finals*
[1] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [6] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-2: 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (38m)
[4] Wai Sze Wing (HKG) bt [WC] Jennifer Condie (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (19m)
[3] Toby Tse (HKG) bt Mingyeong Heo (KOR) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-3 (21m)
[2] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) bt Ellie Jones (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-9 (19m)

*Men’s Round One*
[2] Shady El Sherbiny (EGY) bt Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 (46m)
[8] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt [WC] Corben White (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (26m)
[6] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) bt Tate Zak Norris (AUS) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 11-2, 17-15 (42m)
[3] Laouenan Loaec (FRA) bt Cameron Darton (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 (20m)
Andes Ling (HKG) bt [4] Damon Macmillan (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (29m)
[5] Navaneeth Prabhu (IND) bt Jamie Pattison (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (18m)
Aaron Liang (SGP) bt [7] James Lloyd (AUS) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5 (30m)
[1] Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) bt Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 3-1: 17-19, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (53m)

*Women’s Round One*
[6] Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) bt Maria Kalafatis (AUS) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 (13m)
[WC] Jennifer Condie (AUS) bt [5] Tayla Mounter (ENG) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10 (26m)
[4] Wai Sze Wing (HKG) bt Jihyun Lee (KOR) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 (21m)
[3] Toby Tse (HKG) bt Lam Po Ying (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 2-11, 16-14, 11-3 (28m)
Mingyeong Heo (KOR) bt [7] Aiman Shahbaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (13m)
Ellie Jones (ENG) bt [8] Riffat Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-9 (15m)