The Australian Falcons are flying high into the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships 2025.
Set to kick off on Sunday, 8 June in Saipan, Northern Marianas, the young team from down under is a force to be reckoned with.
The number one seeds, the team is stacked with players full of experience in high-level competition.
On the women’s side, Victoria Tjonadi leads the way with the overall top seed in the individual competition (WS). She is accompanied by YONEX Australian National Badminton Championships women’s singles runner-up, Faye Huo.
The remaining two female team members burst onto the continental scene earlier this year with a statement runner-up women’s doubles finish in the VICTOR Oceania Championships. Only losing to Olympians Angela Yu and Gronya Somerville, Mimi Ngo and Maureen Wijaya are ready to continue their form from North Harbour.
On the men’s side, Shrey Dhand is the standout name. He recently returned from Xiamen, China, where he represented Australia at the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025.
He’s joined by Jayden Lim, who took third place in the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships men’s doubles in 2023.
Landon Kurniawan and Phillip Halim round out the eight-strong team. Both of them joined Shrey, Jayden, and Victoria in the Australia team at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships in Nanchang, China, last year.
This year’s line up is impressive, but the path to the VICTOR Oceania Junior Mixed Team title will not be easy.
To find out more about her mindset going into this competition, we sat down with Mimi Ngo earlier this week.
A Q&A With One of Australia’s Rising Stars
Are you excited for the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championship? If so, what are you most looking forward to?
I’m super excited for this comp. Some of my friends from other countries will be there as well, so I can’t wait to see them again.
What do you like the most about badminton?
Badminton is a sport that challenges you physically and mentally. I like how it takes both to be able to play well and win.
How did you get into the sport? How long have you been playing for?
At first I absolutely did not want to play, but then I saw other kids my age playing and I was like “why not?” I first started playing badminton when I was 9 yrs old, so now I’ve been playing for around 6 years.
What are your goals for the sport?
My long term goal is to be in 2032 Olympics
Who is your inspiration? What drives you towards success?
My favorite player is Tai Tzu Ying. I think she’s extremely talented and has amazing skills.
What has been your highlight so far in your career?
My highlight so far in my career was playing making it to finals in Oceania championships and playing Gronya and Angela Yu. It was interesting to be able to play against Olympians and see how high their level is
What is your favourite discipline? Singles or Doubles?
My favourite is Singles, but I also enjoy playing doubles because I think playing with a friend is fun
