Australia claimed three victories as mixed team action began at the Oceania Badminton Championships in Auckland ©Paul Foxall

Australia claimed three victories without dropping a match as the mixed team event began at the Oceania Badminton Championships in New Zealand.

The defending champions won 5-0 against Northern Marianas, Tonga and Cook Islands at the Auckland Badminton Stadium.

It leaves them top of the round-robin table with two days of mixed team competition to go.

Hosts New Zealand also began with a perfect record but they played just twice - seeing off Tonga and Cook Islands 5-0.

It was a good day for New Caledonia, too, as they won 5-0 against Northern Marianas and Tonga in their two fixtures.

Debutants the Cook Islands did enjoy a 3-2 win over Tahiti, who later recovered to defeat Northern Marianas by the same scoreline.

Mixed team matches consist of games in men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles.

New Caledonia enjoyed a good day with two victories from two on the opening day of mixed doubles action at the Oceania Badminton Championships in Auckland ©Paul Foxall
New Caledonia enjoyed a good day with two victories from two on the opening day of mixed doubles action at the Oceania Badminton Championships in Auckland ©Paul Foxall

The team at the top of the table at the end of the round-robin will win the gold medal.

This is highly likely to be decided by the match between Australia and New Zealand, scheduled for the final day of the Championships on Sunday (February 19).

The home team has already claimed both the men's and women's singles titles through Abhinav Manota and Shaunna Li, respectively.

All three doubles titles have gone to Australia.

The mixed team event has not taken place at the Oceania Badminton Championships since 2019.

Whoever wins in Auckland, will qualify for the Sudirman Cup - the Badminton World Federation's international mixed team event which is due to take place later this year in Suzhou in China.