The individual competition at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2026 got underway on Wednesday with the mixed doubles producing the first major surprises, while most of the leading singles players progressed smoothly to the next round.
Several seeded pairs fell on the opening day, bringing early changes to one of the tournament’s most competitive events.
The biggest casualty came in the mixed doubles, where top seeds Cheung Sai Shing/Chu Wing Chi of Hong Kong China bowed out in the round of 32 after a three-game defeat to Japan’s Mahiro Oku and Yuzu Ueno.
The Japanese pair recovered after dropping the opening game to win 19-21, 21-18, 21-18 and delight the home supporters.
Malaysia’s fourth seeds Irfan Shazmir and Nur Aina Maisarah were another notable exit, while Thailand’s fifth seeds Tachin Wiriwatchairerk/ Thitiwarada Buakaew were beaten by Indonesia’s Muhammad Luthfi and Dian Ramdhani Mukti.
The men’s singles, meanwhile, largely followed the form book.
Top seed Yih Chung-Hsiang of Chinese Taipei received a first-round bye and safely moved into the round of 32.
Home favourite and fourth seed Shunki Hagiwara opened his campaign convincingly, defeating Hong Kong China’s Chan Yee Hai 21-7, 21-13.
China’s seventh seed Luo Jing Yu also advanced comfortably with a 21-14, 21-10 victory over Thailand’s Pannachai Boonmak, while Malaysia’s Kong Wei Xiang, seeded eighth, swept past Uzbekistan’s Azizbek Lutfullaev 21-8, 21-8.
India’s fifth seed Dev Ruparella was made to work harder, needing three games to see off Sri Lanka’s Pamudu Randiligama and book his place in the next round.
Second seed Riyan Malhan of the United Arab Emirates, the Hungary Junior Open champion received a bye, will begin his challenge on Thursday against China’s Xu Jining in one of the headline matches of the round of 32.
South Korea’s Jeon Woo Yu produced one of the day’s notable results, defeating Japan’s Masato Yamashiro 21-14, 21-18 to advance.
Elsewhere, there were no major surprises in the women’s singles and men’s doubles, with all leading seeds moving safely through.
Attention now shifts to Thursday’s programme, with women’s singles encounter between Japanese top seed Yuzuno Watanabe and Thailand’s reigning world junior champion Anyapat Pichitpreechasak among the highlights.
