Having topped their respective groups with unbeaten records, the players from the host country managed to win their quarter-final clashes to book a spot in the last four.

Top seed Jian accounted for New Zealand’s Armindeep Singh with a comfortable 12-10, 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 victory and second seed Zhang also enjoyed a commanding win. beating Natalie Paterson, also from New Zealand, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6.

Dederko, seeded third, needed six games to edge past Ruofei Rao of New Zealand 7-11, 10-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6.

Tapper, aiming to become the first Australian to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, also went the distance before claiming an 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 3-11, 11-3, 14-12 success in her quarter-final contest against compatriot Miao Miao.

Jian is due to take on Dederko in the last four and Zhang and Tapper will clash in the other semi-final match.

The Oceanian Olympic qualifier is being held as part of the Oceania Championships as the top three men’s and women’s players at the end of the tournament will earn a place at this summer’s Games, with a maximum of two from each National Olympic Committee (NOC).

It was a similar story in the men’s competition as the top four seeds also reached the semi-final stage of the event in Bendigo.

Australia’s David Powell dropped one game but was still able to get past New Zealand’s Lin Yi-Sien 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, with team-mate Heming Hu proving too strong for compatriot Wade Townsend with an 11-5, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7 triumph.

The Australian dominance continued when Chris Yan saw off the challenge of Matthew Ball, progressing thanks to an 11-5, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 win.

New Zealand did have some success to cheer as Liu Tengteng will be the country’s sole representative in the last four.

He beat Kane Townsend 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10.

The competition is due to continue tomorrow.