Defending champions China are unseeded but it is not stopping them from eyeing their fifth successive mixed team title in the PEMBANGUNAN JAYA RAYA Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2017 in Bintaro, Jakarta, Indonesia.
China defeated India 4-1 in their opening Group A match but fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of this year's top seeds South Korea in their second match which was a thriller all the way.
The match finished late at night when the other matches were completed much earlier. The fans stayed back to watch – cheering both teams for their efforts at the Gedung Olahraga PB Jaya Raya Hall.
The Koreans, who finished runners-up to the mighty Chinese in the last four finals (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), had taken a commanding 3-0 lead by winning the opening three matches – the Mixed Doubles, Men's Singles and Men's Doubles.
However, China came back strongly to win the women's singles and women's doubles.
China team manager Lu Sida is not losing any sleep over the defeat to the Koreans. Instead, he is quietly confident that his team will go all the way in the team event.
"More than half of my team is new. More than half of the players are in fact playing in their first international tournament. They are young and talented," said Lu Sida.
"We may not be seeded this time but it is does not bother us. We will make the knockout stage and we can retain the title yet again.
"The match against the Koreans is a good indication. They (Koreans) are the top seeds and I am pleased with the way my players performed against them.
"It is a good test for them (my players). Ninth in the ranking list in this year's Asian Junior Championships does not bother us. This is expected as we did not send our players to international tournaments and that is why our ranking dropped," added Lu Sida.
RESULTS (MIXED TEAM)
GROUP A
Korea beat Uzbekistan 5-0
China beat India 4-1
Korea beat China 3-2
India beat Uzbekistan 5-0
GROUP B
Malaysia beat Myanmar 4-1
Singapore beat Macau 5-0
Vietnam beat Myanmar 3-2
Philippines beat Kazakhstan 3-2
Singapore beat Vietnam 5-0
Malaysia beat Macau 5-0
GROUP C
Thailand beat Philippines 5-0
Japan beat Mongolia 5-0
Japan beat Kazakhstan 5-0
Thailand beat Mongolia 5-0
GROUP D
Indonesia beat Nepal 5-0
Chinese Taipei beat Hong Kong 4-1
