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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The beaten semi-finalists will take the bronze medal.
RESULTS (Semi-Finals)
Japan 3 Malaysia 0
(Japan first)
XD: Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito beat Chia Wei Jie-Toh Ee Wei 21-16, 21-15
MS: Taiki Kato beat Ng Tze Yong 21-13, 23-25, 24-22
MD: Hiroki Midorikawa-Hiroki Nakayama beat Chang Yee Jun-Chua Yue Chern 21-17, 21-14
China 3 Indonesia 1
(China first)
XD: Guo Xinwa-Liu Xuanxuan beat Ghifari Anandaffa Prihardika-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti 17-21, 21-17, 25-23
MS: Bai Yupeng lost to Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 18-21, 14-21
MD: Di Zijan-Wang Chang beat Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Pramudya Riyanto 21-14, 22-20
WS: Wang Zhiyi beat Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-14, 21-13