Triple Crown For North Harbour’s Shaunna Li

The titles were pentiful for North Harbour at the New Zealand National Championships 2023.

The New Zealand National Championships will be one of the highest level tournaments in New Zealand this year with the cancellation of the New Zealand Open and the North Harbour International (due to flood damage).  Players seemed eager to take to the courts with entry numbers consistent with previous years. North Harbour representation was high, with a number of senior and junior players entered.

North Harbour’s established mixed doubles pair, Edward Lau and Shaunna Li were practically untroubled on their road to the final, with only a small glitch in their first game of the first match against Dacmen Vong and Roanne Apalisok where they were taken to extention. From then it was smooth sailing until the final.  Their opposition, North Harbour’s Dylan Soedjasa and Anona Pak took some time to settle into the match, falling behind in the first game.  In the second, the tables turned with Soedjasa and Pak striking back, taking the match to a third game.  This seemed to reignite the number one seeds who held their composure to win the third, and the first national titles of the day.

For some players, the New Zealand National Championships 2023 was the third national tournament in as many weeks.  This may have played a part in the senior players dominating the draws in most events, however the women’s singles featured North Harbour’s Josephine Zhao, fresh off a title win at the New Zealand u19 Championships the week prior. Zhao earned her place in the final against compatriot Shaunna Li after dispatching the number two seed, Gaea Galvez (NH) in three games.  Li, who was untroubled in each of her matches, dispatched Zhao 21-6, 21-15 to secure her second title in as many hours.

Dylan Soedjasa and regular doubles partner, Auckland’s Adam Jeffrey, had a tough time in the finals of the men’s doubles. After winning the first game against Jack Wang and Ryan Tong (AK), they had the opportunity to close out the match in the second, before letting Wang and Tong back in and losing 22-24.  The third match was close throughout however the Auckland pair showed more fire power and some good luck at times to secure the game and match, leaving Soedjasa and Jeffrey with the runner up title.

Edward Lau, fresh off a win in the mixed doubles, was looking to confirm his place as the number one men’s singles player in New Zealand. Up against Auckland junior Daniel Hu, Lau went about his job methodically, wearing Hu down over the two games it took to secure the win and a second title for North Harbour’s Edward Lau.

The women’s doubles was a true battle of the bridge with Shaunna Li and Alyssa Tagle taking on Auckland’s Sally Fu and Camellia Zhou.  Always a fantastic supporters battle, the North Harbour pair started strong, showing their skill and versatility over the Auckland pair.  After winning the first game, there was no stopping Li and Tagle as they increased the pressure and shut down their opposition winning in two games 21-16 21-10 and a third title for Shaunna Li.

Full results click here