ASIAN JUNIORS 2015 – China takes 6th team title

Fielding a bevy of Youth Olympic and World and Asian Junior champions, including Zheng Siwei, China took its sixth mixed title in the ten years since the Asian Junior Championships first staged a mixed team title.

By Don Hearn.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (archives)

China’s Zheng Siwei is coming into his own.  He is the defending champion here at the Asian Juniors in boys’ doubles player, but his title last year was with the now-ineligible Huang Kaixiang, with whom he also won the New Zealand Open this year.

Zheng has, of course, stepped up to replace Huang as Chen Qingchen’s partner in mixed doubles and, while Huang and Chen won two World Junior titles together, Zheng and Chen have already collected two Grand Prix Gold titles.  Zheng Siwei made presence known twice in the final, first in the now familiar pairing with Chen Qingchen (pictured), and then with He Jiting in the boys’ doubles.

The Koreans started off with a younger pair against the Bitburger and New Zealand Open mixed doubles champions.  Chen Qinchen kept her streak alive, leaving no quarter and finishing off her match in under half an hour for the sixth time since the tournament began in Bangkok on Sunday.

Next up was the only reigning singles champion, Lin Guipu, who won the world meet last spring.  Last year’s Asian Junior Champion in boys’ singles, Shi Yuqi has since graduated to the senior ranks and the girls’ singles winner at both the Asian and World Juniors, Akane Yamaguchi, is not in Bangkok this week.

Lin had no trouble with Korea’s Dutch Junior runner-up Lee Jun Su, winning handily in straight games.

Korea’s last hope came from Seo Seung Jae and Choi Jong Woo (pictured).  Seo is also Korea’s top singles player but he and Choi won both Thailand and German Juniors this year.  However, in the mixed team final, they were up against the formidable Zheng Siwei and his new partner He Jiting.

In fact, the Koreans came the closest anyone has all week to nabbing a point from the mighty Chinese.  After winning the first game, the Koreans were just shy of finishing it in two but they conceded the second game 19-21, only to see the Chinese steamroll through the decider 21-10 and finish with the team title.

One had to expect morale to be low in the Korean camp despite the fight put up by the Koreans in boys’ doubles.  After all, the Chinese had two points in hand and even were they to give up one point, they still had the Youth Olympic gold medallist He Bingjiao and then defending Asian and World Junior Champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan waiting in the wings, all of whom also have Grand Prix senior titles to their names.

Asian Junior Mixed Team Final result: China 3, Korea 0
XD:  Chen Qingchen / Zheng Siwei (CHN) beat Kim Hyang Im / Lim Su Min (KOR)  21-14, 21-10
MS:  Lin Guipu   (CHN) beat Lee Jun Su (KOR)  21-14, 21-9
MD:  He Jiting / Zheng Siwei (CHN) beat Choi Jong Woo / Seo Seung Jae (KOR)   13-21, 21-19, 21-10
WS: He Bingjiao (CHN) vs. Shim Ye Rim (KOR) [not played]
WD: Chen Qingchen / Jia Yifan (CHN) vs. Kim Hye Jeong / Park Keun Hye (KOR) [not played]

Click here for complete results