World Jr C’ships: China Beat Indonesia To Clinch Suhandinata Cup For 15th Time; India, Japan Bag Bronze

World Jr C’ships: China beat Indonesia to clinch Suhandinata Cup for 15th time; India, Japan bag bro (Image Source: IANS)

The BWF World Junior Championships: Badminton powerhouse China kept their nerves under pressure to beat defending champions Indonesia 2-0 in the finals of the BWF World Junior Championships 2025 here on Saturday to lift the Suhandinata Cup for the 15th time.

China went into the final with a line-up that boasted of three reigning Asian Junior Championships individual gold medallists and two silver medallists, and Indonesia needed a special performance from a couple of their players to retain the title they had won last year.

But the Chinese juggernaut wasn’t to be halted as they beat the Indonesians 45-30, 45-44 in just over two hours to clinch the title. India and Japan bagged the bronze medals as the losing semi-finalists.

The opening set was a cakewalk for China after their pair, Asian junior girls' doubles champions Cao Zi Han and Chen Fan Shu Tian, secured a crucial 9-8 win over Riska Anggraini and Rinjani Nastine in the first match. China then swept every subsequent match to win the set.

The second set was a topsy-turvy affair as Riska and Rinjani turned the tables on their opponents to give Indonesia a 9-5 lead. However, Chen Jun Ting and Cao then fought back from an 8-13 deficit to win 10 of the next 11 points to put China back in command at 18-14.

Asian Junior Championship silver medallist Liu Si Ya was then pushed to the distance by Thalita Wiryawan, but did enough to maintain a three-point advantage for China at 27-24.

It looked like world Junior no. 1 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah could then help Indonesia turn the tables on China as he immediately restored parity at 27-27, and scores went neck-and-neck till 31-31. But China’s Liu Yang Ming Yu did enough to stay alive in the rallies to force his opponent into making mistakes, and gave a four-point advantage to the boys’ doubles pairing in the last match of the set.

The final match of the set was a test of nerves for all four players as Indonesia’s Alexius Subagio and Raihan Pramono closed the gap at 40-39 and then earned a set point at 44-43.

It looked like world Junior no. 1 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah could then help Indonesia turn the tables on China as he immediately restored parity at 27-27, and scores went neck-and-neck till 31-31. But China’s Liu Yang Ming Yu did enough to stay alive in the rallies to force his opponent into making mistakes, and gave a four-point advantage to the boys’ doubles pairing in the last match of the set.

The BWF World Junior Championships 2025 will have a rest day on Sunday, with the individual championships for Eye Level Cups beginning on Monday.

Article Source: IANS