That is the aim for Lucy Thomsen and Pingkan Polak as the dynamic duo set out to defend their badminton title at the Otago Open today.
They enter the badminton tournament as the No1-ranked seed in the women’s doubles, having won five consecutive titles and focusing on the discipline in recent years.
Polak will also team up with Wellington’s Bevan Cox as the top seeds for the mixed doubles.
It will be a massive weekend for Cox, who makes the trip South as the No 1 seed in the men’s singles as well.
He is fresh off winning the Wellington North Open, which is part of the New Zealand Tour, men’s singles.
Thomsen, who is also Badminton Otago’s senior rep manager, expected Cox to have another good tournament at the Otago Badminton Centre.
Otago player Josh Kellet is also one to keep an eye on.
The local lad made his debut at the tournament as a junior in 2015 and has turned his focus to doubles in recent years. He will link up with Caleb Young, of Southland, for the men’s doubles, and Otago’s Adithi Alexander in the mix.
About 74 players are expected to play across the singles, doubles and mixed doubles, with players travelling from Southland, Canterbury and Wellington.
Players often travelled from the North Island to compete in the Otago Open, with "player points" up for grabs for national rankings.
"It’s within your best interest if you are willing to travel to go to those tournaments and play with different people," Thomsen said.
"I think it is an opportunity to play different people that they’re not going to necessarily ge to compete against in the North Island.
"There’s a couple of strong Canterbury players too, so it’s a good opportunity for Otago locals to test themselves against anyone who’s willing to travel really."
The competition gets under way tonight at 7pm. Finals are expected to be played tomorrow afternoon.
