As the final shuttle dropped and the cheers echoed through the arena, the curtain closed on an unforgettable day of badminton. The VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships 2025 finals brought the fiercest of competition and some very deserving champions. Here’s your finals day recap.
Women’s Singles
In the first match of the day, Faye Huo (AUS) took the early lead. While Victoria Tjonadi (AUS) closed down the gap several times, it wasn’t quite enough, and Huo stormed to a first game win 21-15.
Going into the second game, Tjonadi took a more aggressive approach, and it paid off. She reached the interval with the lead in her grasp, but once again Huo’s confidence and tenacity pushed her to the win in 21-15, 21-13).
“It felt like all my hard work that I have put into playing this game has paid off… I used to focus too much on winning and now I’m trying to enjoy myself on court and have fun.” — Faye Huo (AUS)
Men’s Singles
Shrey Dhand (AUS) felt the pressure coming into the final. As the number one seed, he felt as if it was his game to lose.
He went up early in the first game, but Landon Kurniawan (AUS) was willed on from the crowd to close the deficit. However, Dhand scored a few crucial points back to back to win the first game 21-19.
He continued on this form through the second game, steadying his nerves to take out the win 21-19, 21-15.
“It was just relief, there was a lot of pressure on me to win the singles title and I was just really happy to get it done, My first Oceania title and I couldn’t be happier.” — Shrey Dhand (AUS)
Women’s Doubles
Returning to the court, Australia’s Victoria Tjonadi and her partner Seryna Xiao looked to upset the Oceania Women’s Doubles Runner-Ups from 2025, Mimi Ngo and Maureen Wijaya (AUS). Tjonadi and Xiao refused to give an inch when Ngo and Wijaya attempted to press ahead.
Despite this, an unmissable a sense of composure and self-belief emanated from Ngo and Wijaya’s side of the court.
This energy seemed to grow as the game continued, and eventually, the Oceania runner-ups landed their first Oceania Junior title, beating Tjonadi and Xiao 21-17, 21-18.
“We learned a lot of things during this tournament and one of these was to stick to the game plan, how to cope under pressure and keep pushing even though we might not win. I think that helped us win this tournament and we are really excited for the next one.” — Mimi Ngo (AUS)
Men’s Doubles
The sole Kiwis in competing in finals day, Raphael Deloy and Lezhi Zhu, stepped onto the court hopeful that they could do something big for their country.
Up against Phillip Halim and Landon Kurniawan (AUS), the New Zealanders immediately went on the attack, taking a lead over their opponents.
After starting slow in the semis, Deloy and Zhu made sure not to make the same mistake twice.
The Australians fought to minimise the gap but the Kiwis never really looked flustered.
This conscious effort worked. Raphael Deloy and Lezhi Zhu won the title in the shortest match of the day.
After 26 minutes, the final score was 21-15, 21-14.
“It just feels surreal to be the champions because eight years ago I never would have thought of badminton as a sport [for me to play].” — Lezhi Zhu (NZL)
Mixed Doubles
In arguably the most anticipated match of the day, Victoria Tjonadi hit the court for a third time with partner Jayden Lim (AUS) and a goal of gold. Their opponents already had one gold each from earlier in the day — Shrey Dhand (MS) and Mimi Ngo (WD).
While Tjonadi fell just short in her previous finals, she refused to let history repeat. With poise and self-possession, she and Lim held on through rough patches to come from behind and take the first game, 24-22.
In the second game, Dhand and Ngo attempted to take control of the match, but it slipped out of their grasp. Victoria Tjonadi and Jayden Lim won the second game (21-19) to secure the title.
“I really wanted to come away with a gold medal and after the finishing point I was really relieved and happy. This mixed title means especially a lot to me as I wanted to follow in the steps of my sister who was the previous mixed title winner.” — Victoria Tjonadi (AUS).
Rhonda Cator Sportsmanship Trophy
This award is presented to the player who makes an impact both on and off the court throughout the competition. This year, the winner is Tony Zhou from Fiji.
“I trained so hard to achieve something in this tournament. I think I’ve done a lot both on and the court!” — Tony Zhou (FIJ)
