Chinese Taipei made their first-ever final of the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships, beating defending champions Indonesia in a thrilling semifinal.
Indonesia had recovered from 0-2 down to level at 2-all, and with their women’s doubles pair of Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari/Rachel Allessya Rose taking the first game of the final match, the Indonesians sensed a great comeback.
But their opponents Nicole Gonzales Chan and Yang Chu Yun found their attacking gear, and the Indonesians were constantly under pressure from their hard-hitting opponents. With their 13-21 21-16 21-13 result, the Chinese Taipei pair saw their team through to a historic first final, where they take on Korea.
Kuo Kuan Lin, who made it 2-0 for Chinese Taipei against Indonesia.
Indonesia had gone into the tie without their top two singles players Alwi Farhan and Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo, with both nursing minor injuries. Muhammad Reza Al Fajri, in place of Alwi, lost a close contest to Kuo Kuan Lin, and Chinese Taipei were 2-0 ahead.
Mutiara Ayu Puspitasari and men’s doubles pair Muh Putra Erwiansyah/Muhammad Rayhan Nur Fadillah dragged Indonesia back into the contest, before the Indonesians finally ran aground against Chinese Taipei’s tenacious women’s doubles pair.
The other semifinal couldn’t have been more different, with Korea blanking Japan 3-0.
Korean players celebrate after making the final.
Kim Byung Jae gave Korea the lead in men’s singles, and Min Seon Kim consolidated with a straight games win in women’s singles.
The closest match of the tie was men’s doubles. Cho Song Hyun/Park Beom Soo overcame a tough challenge from Koya Iwano/Shunya Ota to seal the tie for Korea, who will contest their 11th final.
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