World Jr C'ships: China beat Indonesia to clinch Suhandinata Cup for 15th time; India, Japan bag bronze

Guwahati, Oct 11 (IANS) 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.

But Chen Jun Ting and Liu Jun Rong kept their nerves under pressure and closed out the match by forcing another error from the Indonesians.

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

--IANS

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