Host Indonesia confirmed their spot in the knockout rounds of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships 2024 after clinching their second win over Vietnam at Gor among Raga Hall here.
The Indonesian junior squad, gunning for their first title since 2006, were given a scare after losing the first men’s doubles tie when Vietnam pair Nguyen Van Mai/Pham Van Truong got the better of Dexter Farrell/Wahyu Agung Prasetyo in straight games of 21-15, 23-21.
However, Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartaya Pratiwi and Mohd Zaki Ubaidillah pulled the host out of danger, winning their respective women’s and men’s singles encounters against Bui Bich Phuong and Tran Quoc Khanh.
Women’s doubles duo of Anggraini Riska/Salsabila Aulia Zahra were then made to dig deep before confirming the winning point for the hosts with a 58-minute 19-21, 21-13, 24-22 win over Bui Bich Phuong/Tran Thi Anh.
Meanwhile, eight-time champion China were also through as the likely Group D champion, following an easy 5-0 win over Singapore, with all ties except the men’s doubles between Cheng Yong Rui/Chen Zhe Han against Zi Shun Nicholas Kat/Nge Joo Jin wrapped up below 30 minutes.
Two-time champion Malaysia confirmed their place in the last eight after thumping Kazakhstan 5-0 in the Group B encounter. Malaysia’s last group match is against the United Arab Emirates, tomorrow.
The Badminton Asia Junior mixed team tournament, featuring 15 teams, runs until July 2 with the individual tournament following soon after from July 3-7 at the same venue.
