Top seeds China defeated last year’s runners-up Indonesia 3-1 to reach the final of the Mixed Team event in the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Bintaro, Jakarta on Monday.
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China is now the hot favourite for the title and will face 3/4 seeds Japan. The Japanese stopped giant killers Malaysia with a rather easy 3-0 win.
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Earlier in the morning, the Malaysians knocked out defending champions Korea 3-1 in the quarter-finals. However, in the semi-finals, the Malaysians were a spent force and lost the mixed doubles, the men’s singles and the men’s doubles.
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Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay gave Indonesia a glitter of by winning the men’s singles against Bai Yupeng in straight games 21-18, 21-14 after Guo Xinwa-Liu Xuanxuan won the first point for China in the mixed doubles. The Chinese beat Ghifari Anandaffa Prihardika-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti 17-21, 21-17 25-23.
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China regained the lead through Di Zijian-Wang Chang in the men’s doubles and Wang Zhiyi clinched the winning point with a 21-14, 21-13 win over Putri Kusuma Wardani in the women’s singles.
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The beaten semi-finalists will take the bronze medal. –Â Badminton Asia
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RESULTS (Semi-Finals)
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Japan  3   Malaysia  0
(Japan first)
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XD: Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito beat Chia Wei Jie-Toh Ee Wei 21-16, 21-15
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MS: Taiki Kato beat Ng Tze Yong 21-13, 23-25, 24-22
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MD: Hiroki Midorikawa-Hiroki Nakayama beat Chang Yee Jun-Chua Yue Chern 21-17, 21-14
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China  3   Indonesia  1
(China first)
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XD: Guo Xinwa-Liu Xuanxuan beat Ghifari Anandaffa Prihardika-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti 17-21, 21-17, 25-23
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MS: Bai Yupeng lost to Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 18-21, 14-21
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MD: Di Zijan-Wang Chang beat Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Pramudya Riyanto 21-14, 22-20
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WS: Wang Zhiyi beat Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-14, 21-13Â