7 August 2019, Liam Petterson
The University of Melbourne has won the 2019 Big Blue Badminton against rivals Monash University by taking out both the Men’s and Women’s divisions.
The competition took place in the centre of campus at Wilson Hall, the historic building traditionally associated with graduations and exams. The venue was transformed into a sporting arena as professional-grade court mats were rolled out for the occasion.
Melbourne’s players were treated to a strong home-crowd turn out, while the matches were also livestreamed to an audience of over 1,200 online viewers.
Melbourne got off to a fast start by cruising to a win in Women’s Doubles, two sets to none. The pair of Lee Yen Khoo and Sasha Lim were dominant throughout, taking the first set 21 – 7 and the second set 21 – 12.
In the Women’s Singles division, Monash’s Joy Lai comfortably defeated Melbourne’s Elaine Luo in the second seed match, before Melbourne’s first seed Alice Wu earned a 21 – 15, 21 – 17 victory to ensure Melbourne took home the Women’s trophy, two matches to one.
Melbourne’s David Chin was victorious in the second seed match of the Men’s Singles division, earning a hard fought 21 – 19, 21 – 18 victory, before Monash took out the Men’s Doubles.
The evening’s proceedings were capped off by a thrilling Men’s first seed match, in which Melbourne’s Bufan Gu earned a gritty win by coming from one set down to win 20 – 22, 21 – 19, 21 – 16.
The University’s Sport Performance Coordinator, Tom Lutwyche, was delighted to bring sport to Wilson Hall for the second consecutive year.
“It’s great to take sport into the heart of the University and allow our student-athletes to experience a very unique and special venue to play sport in,” he said.
“The rivalry between the two teams, as well as the friendships they have, was on full-display through the evening and the standard of competition and sportsmanship is something we really value when it’s Melbourne and Monash.”
Both sides are looking forward to facing off again at Nationals Div 1 on the Gold Coast at the end of September.