India lose to Japan in quarters of Badminton Asia Jr mixed team c’ships

India’s junior badminton team put up a strong fight before going down 104-110 to former champions Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships in Solo, Indonesia on Monday.

In a closely-contested tie under the relay scoring system, India came out strong after a narrow 9-11 loss in the opening match. The boys’ doubles duo of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu got India on the board, followed by a composed win from the girls’ pair of Vennala Kalagotla and Reshika Uthayasooriyan to put India ahead 33-26.

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Reshika then combined with Bhavya Chhabra to maintain the lead at 44-35, and Rounak Chouhan extended the cushion with another solid performance.

India led for a major part of the tie, but Japan, the 2023 champions, pulled ahead in the final stretch, winning the last five matches in a row. Several of those games went down to the wire, reflecting the grit of the Indian squad.

Despite the narrow exit, India had a strong tournament. They topped Group D with victories over Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, showing depth and balance across singles and doubles.

The Bhargav-Viswa Tej and Reshika-Vennala pairings were consistently impressive, while C Lalramsanga also stood out in his doubles outings, paired up with Bhavya for men’s doubles and Taarini Suri for the mixed doubles. In singles, Rounak upset world junior No. 5 Lam Ka To, and Rujula Ramu registered wins over two top-20 players.

The focus now shifts to the individual championships, starting July 23.