IF squad depth is the yardstick for success, then defending champions China appear well-placed to extend their dominance when the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships 2026 gets underway on Friday.
The 10-time champions are chasing an unprecedented 11th title since 2006 and a third successive crown after emerging victorious in the last two editions. But standing in their path is host Japan, setting up an intriguing battle between Asia’s two badminton powerhouses.
China and Japan have been drawn together in Group B alongside the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, with their clash expected to determine the group winner and potentially shape the knockout stage.
China’s strength lies in its depth with boys’ singles stars Luo Jing Yu, Xu Jining and Hong Tianyu leading the charge, while reigning Asian junior girls’ singles champion Yin Yi Qing and 2025 silver medallist Liu Si Ya provide formidable firepower in the women’s department.
Yin, who captured the Asian junior title in Surakarta last year, has continued her impressive rise by winning the Dutch Junior International title earlier this season.
Alongside her, Liu Si Ya offers China another potent weapon with the runner-up at the 2025 Asian Junior Championships playing crucial role in China’s successful campaign at the World Junior Mixed Team Championships last year.
With both players available, China possess the luxury of rotating their women’s singles options under the new relay-point system
Japan, however, are equally determined to make home advantage count with boys’ singles hope Shunki Hagiwara and girls’ singles top seed Yuzuno Watanabe, leading their charge.The hosts are aiming to reclaim the title they last won in 2023 and secure a third crown overall since the mixed team competition was introduced in 2006.
Watanabe was one of the breakout stars of the 2025 World Junior Championships after stunning defending champion Xu Wenjing of China and has carried that momentum into 2026.  Their rivalry could prove decisive when China and Japan collide in the group stage in what is expected to be the marquee tie of the opening week.
Thailand, runners-up in 2025, head Group A alongside Hong Kong China and Singapore, while Group C features India, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and the Philippines.
Group D promises fireworks, with former champions Malaysia and Indonesia drawn together with South Korea and Macau China in what many consider the tournament’s “Group of Death”.
The mixed team competition adopts Badminton Asia’s new relay-point format, where each tie is contested over three sets of 55 points.  Following the round-robin stage from June 26-28, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals and final scheduled on June 29 and 30.
(Leading players)
China:Â Luo Jing Yu, Xu Jining, Hong Tianyu, Liu Si Ya, Yin Yi Qing.
Japan:Â Shunki Hagiwara, Yuzuno Watanabe, Saki Matsumoto.
 Group A: Thailand, Hong Kong China, Singapore.
Group B:Â China, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka.
Group C:Â India, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Philippines.
Group D:Â Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Macau China.
