Pictured: Jack Yu and Kaitlyn Ea, Australia. Photo credit: Badminton Photo
On day two of the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships, New Zealand completed their group stage matches, while Australia continue to work their way through Group E.
Chinese Taipei were quick to set the tone as they opened with a 21-15 21-4 win in the Mixed Doubles against New Zealand, which was followed by two more convincing win in the Singles to race off to a 3-0 lead.
Ella Smith and Jenny Zhu fought valiantly to accrue the most points across one game, but it ended up as a 5-0 whitewash for the 9/16 seeded team from Chinese Taipei.
However, Team New Zealand ended their Group G campaign on a high with a victory against the Faroe Islands. Reigning regional junior champions, Ryan Tong and Jack Wang, got the first point on the board for New Zealand, followed by a succession of victories for the kiwi team, ending with a 5-0 whitewash of their own.
This final group match victory secures third place in Group G and a play-off match against Scotland tomorrow afternoon (from 3.30pm local time, GMT+3) to compete for a final standing between 17-24.
Australia was in for a tough day, following a group draw with 5/8 seeds from India and the 9/16 seeds, Japan.
Fielding a team of with an average age of 16 (in an under-19 event), the young players were among those who swiped Gold at this year’s VICTOR Oceania Championships and the recent Australian Junior International.
Firstly, the team put on a strong performance against India – with three matches going the distance, reflecting another closer game than the overall scoreline may suggest.
Victoria He and Angela Yu denied India the chance of a 5-0 whitewash in the last match, as they defeated their opponents over three games.
The team returned to court later in the afternoon to take on the Japanese, opening with a close Mixed Doubles game, which was one of the closest games of the tie. The Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles was a comfortable victory for Japan, while the reigning regional champions (Kaitlyn Ea and Angela Yu) encountered a closer result in the Women’s Doubles.
Australia have one group match remaining, against Armenia, which will take place on day three from 8.30am, local time (GMT+3).
A victory will see the team play off for positions 25-32 later in the afternoon, while a loss sets the team up for a final position between 33-40.
Check out all results from day two at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships on Tournament Software.
