Daijiworld Media Network - Guwahati
Guwahati, Oct 11: China reaffirmed its dominance in junior badminton, defeating defending champions Indonesia 2-0 in a high-pressure final to lift the Suhandinata Cup for a record 15th time at the BWF World Junior Championships 2025.
Armed with a formidable squad featuring three Asian Junior Championship gold medallists and two silver medallists, China lived up to expectations, prevailing in a tightly contested final that lasted just over two hours.
The tie ended 45-30, 45-44 in China’s favour, marking a clean sweep through the team competition. India and Japan took home bronze medals as losing semi-finalists.
China started strong, with girls’ doubles Asian champions Cao Zi Han and Chen Fan Shu Tian setting the tone by edging out Riska Anggraini and Rinjani Nastine 9-8 in the opener. That narrow win opened the floodgates, as the Chinese team dominated the rest of the first set.
Indonesia regrouped in the second set and looked poised for a comeback after racing to a 9-5 lead. But Chen Jun Ting and Cao staged a stunning rally, overturning an 8-13 deficit to go up 18-14.
The tension escalated in the singles, with Liu Si Ya fending off a strong challenge from Thalita Wiryawan to hold China’s lead at 27-24. Indonesia’s Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah, the world junior No. 1, then levelled the scores at 27-27, keeping the title hopes alive.
As the scoreline moved neck-and-neck to 31-31, Liu Yang Ming Yu stayed composed and capitalised on Indonesian errors to give China a crucial edge heading into the final match.
Indonesia’s Alexius Subagio and Raihan Pramono nearly forced a decider, earning a set point at 44-43. But China’s Chen Jun Ting and Liu Jun Rong held their nerve, closing out the match with calm execution and another forced error from their rivals to seal the championship.
The tournament now moves into the individual championships for the Eye Level Cups, which begin Monday after Sunday’s rest day.