Miao Miao helped the Australian women to the team title in Bendigo ©Andrew Perryman/ITTF

Hosts Australia asserted their dominance of the team competitions as they scooped both the men’s and women’s crowns at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Oceania Championships at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo.

The women produced a commanding display to claim gold with a comfortable 3-0 victory over New Zealand, though the men were made to work much harder for their 3-2 win against the same opponents.

Miao Miao beat Natalie Paterson 10-12, 11-5, 11-2, 12-10 to get the Australians off to the best possible start before Peng Kai doubled the advantage for the home nation by seeing off Ruofei Rao 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-1 in a marathon contest.

Sarah Tan then ensured Australia would lift the team title as she proved too strong for Armindeep Singh, clinching an 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 triumph to seal a comfortable success for the hosts.

Kane Townsend put the Australians on the board in the men’s final by overcoming Lin Yi-Sien 11-13, 11-8, 12-10, 11-13, 11-7 and when brother Wade ousted Craig Dye 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 15-13, it looked as though their team would follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts.

But New Zealand had other ideas, halving the deficit as Matthew Ball accounted for Erny Tsao 1-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-13, 11-7.

Lin Yi-Sien managed to level proceedings for the New Zealanders as he stunned Wade Townsend with a 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 victory, sending a pulsating final into a tense decider.

The men were made to work hard for their triumph as they edged rivals New Zealand with a 3-2 victory
The men were made to work hard for their triumph as they edged rivals New Zealand with a 3-2 victory ©Table Tennis Australia

Despite having squandered a 2-0 lead, Australia halted their rivals’ momentum and edged over the winning line thanks to Kane Townsend beating Dye 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-4.

Bronze in the men's competition went to the combined team from Kiribati and Vanuatu, while Fiji picked up third place in the women's tournament.

Action also got underway in the men’s singles event, which offers Olympic qualification places, as David Powell continued the Australian success by sealing two wins in qualification group one, easing to a 11-3, 11-9, 11-5, 13-11 victory over Tahiti’s Gregoire Dossier.

Powell then made light work of Seluka Resture of Tuvalu, dropping just eight points on his way to a resounding 11-2, 11-1, 11-3, 11-2 triumph.

Liu Tengteng of New Zealand also impressed as he beat Tahitian Tom Heo 11-1, 11-3, 11-5, 11-3, before he was on the right side of a convincing 11-1, 11-2, 11-4, 11-1 scoreline in his clash with Tuvalu’s Fakanaaga Manase.

The top two players in each of the four groups will progress to the next round.

The event in Bendigo continues tomorrow with men’s singles and women’s singles action.