Indonesia is again entrusted with hosting the Badminton Asia Junior Championships. Previously, Indonesia had hosted the event in 2005, 2017, and 2018. After a three-year absent in 2020-2022 due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Badminton Asia Junior Championships is finally back.
This year’s Badminton Asia Junior Championships will be held at Among Raga Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, on 7-16 July 2023. The mixed team event will be held from 7-11 July 2023 and the individual event will be on 12-16 July 2023.
Judging from the rankings of the badminton players that are coming to Yogyakarta, China is favored in first place out of the 14 participating teams. Some of the top ranked junior players are part of the Chinese team, including men’s singles players Hu Zhe An (world junior ranking #5) and Wang Zi Jun (world junior ranking #8).
The second seed is occupied by defending champion, Thailand, followed by Malaysia as the third seed, and Japan as the fourth seed.
In the preliminary round, China will immediately face the host team, Indonesia, and Vietnam in Group A. Meanwhile, Group B will pit Japan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and the Philippines. Malaysia along with India, Hong Kong and Bangladesh are in Group C. Finally, there’s Thailand in Group D together with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
As the first seed with historic record of 8 times winning the mixed team event at Badminton Asia Junior Championships, China is expected to give their stellar performance on the court. However, their ambition for another victory in the mixed team is not guaranteed to be a smooth sail. The defending champion, Thailand, is surely eager to bring the cup back home. On the other hand, being the host, Indonesia also has the pressure to be on the highest podium.
