The tournament starts tonight and has attracted a top-class field.
Notable is the presence of men’s singles top seed and New Zealand No 2 Avinash Shastri, who grew up in Otago but now lives and plays representative badminton in Auckland.
Shastri made his debut for New Zealand at the Oceania teams championships earlier this year.
Otago’s Aaryan Alexander is the second seed in men’s singles at the Otago Open.
He stepped up from under-19 level to senior badminton last year, has become a key member of the Otago representative team and will be eager to improve on his semifinal exit in the Open last year.
Another player to watch is Luke Falvey (Wellington North), who has been out with a knee injury so is battling his way back into the top-ranking positions in New Zealand and is unseeded in the men’s singles draw.
Falvey won the triple crown (men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles) in his last appearance at the Otago Open in 2022.
Also in the draw are strong players from Canterbury, including Alex Zhao and Anu Ahuja.
Otago No 1 Lucy Thomsen, who was knocked out in the semifinals last year, is the top seed in the women’s singles and will strike a familiar foe in her bid for the title.
Former Otago representative Adithi Alexander, runner-up in the Otago event last year, is now in the Wellington North camp.
Defending champion Claudia Smith (Southland) is back, and Cantabrian Elly Li is in form after winning the Wellington North Open.
Alexander and Justin Ho are the second seeds in the men’s doubles.
They will face stiff challenges from the top seeds, Wellington brothers Dwayne and Eugene Teo, as well as Anu Ahuja and Jeremiah Mainickam (runners-up last year), and William Chen and Alex Zhao.
Thomsen and partner Pingkan Polak will chase a seventh consecutive Otago Open title in the women’s doubles.
Last year’s runners-up, Alexander and Smith, are seeded second, while Li and Michelle Foong (Canterbury) will also be strong contenders for the title.
Defending champions Alexander and Smith are the top seeds in the mixed doubles.
