It is China - Korea mixed team team final again in Asian Junior Championships
For the fourth consecutive year China will meet South Korea in the final of the Mixed Team Event in the 19th edition of the Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2016.
In the semi-finals played at the CPB Badminton and Sports Science Center in Bangkok on Monday night, the Chinese strolled to an easy 3-0 win over Japan while the Koreans had a much tougher match against hosts Thailand before prevailing 3-1.
It was heartbreak for the Thais as the Koreans had a heroine in Kim Ga-eun who won her singles match against Pornpawee Chochuwong - the top seed in the girls' singles. The Korean lass shut her ears to the vociferous home supporters for an upset 17-21, 25-23, 21-19 encounter that lasted a solid 74 minutes.
In less than an hour after her win to give Korea a 2-0 lead following victory in the boys' doubles through Kang Min-hyuk-Kim Won-ho who beat the Thai pair of Warit Sarapat-Panachai Worasaktyanan 21-17, 21-13, Ga-eun was back on court with Kim-Hyang-im for the girls' doubles match against Ruethaichanok Laisuan-Alias Sapniti.
The Koreans battled for 44 minutes for their 21-12, 22-20 win for the winning point. The match took its toll on Ga-eun as she sank to the floor with cramps in her legs which left her in tears.
Whether she will feature in the final against China is left to be seen but Korean team manager Kim Hak-kyun hailed as the heroine who made it possible for a crack at the title. China are the top seeds while the Koreans, despite finishing runners-up to the Chinese in the last three years, are seeded only eighth this year.
"Expect us to give another strong performance," said Hak-kyun of his team after the win over Thailand.who were seeded second and strongly tipped to reach the final.
Kim Ga-eun-Kim Hyang-im (KOR)
Earlier in the morning in the quarter-finals China were too strong for Malaysia with a 3-0 win while the Koreans overcame Indonesia 3-1 and Japan ran out 3-0 winners over India. Thailand defeated Hong Kong 3-1 to advance to the last four.
China coach Chu Wei Lun, pleased with the manner in which the Chinese have come through this far in the mixed team event, said: "Of course to win the title for the fourth time will be wonderful it was not an easy journey as teams like Korean, Japan, Indonesia, India and even Hong Kong have shown that they are coming up with their juniors.
"Of course it will be nice to beat the Koreans in the final again after winning our last three finals. It will be a tough match as we have seen the Koreans showing plenty of fighting spirit and their win over Indonesia in the quarter-finals showed that," said Wei Lun.
Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA)
RESULTS (SEMI-FINALS)
China 3 Japan 0
(China first)
Boys' singles
Sun Feixiang beat Koki Watanabe 17-21, 21-16, 21-19
Boys doubles
Han Chengkai-Zhao Haodong beat Hiroki Okamura-Masayuki Onodera 21-17, 21-8
Mixed doubles
Du Yue-He Jiting beat Matsuyama-Hiroki Okamura 21-13, 21-14
South Korea 3 Thailand 1
Boys' singles
Kim Moon Jun lost to Kantaphon Wangcharoen 17-21, 20-22
Boys' doubles
Kang Min-hyuk-Kim Won-ho beat Warit Sarapat-Panachai Worasaktyanan 21-17, 21-13
Girls' singles
Kim Ga-eun beat Pornpawee Chochuwong 17-21, 25-23, 21-19
Girls' doubles
Kim Ga-eun-Kim Hyang-im beat Ruethaichanok Laisuan-Alisa Sapniti 21-12, 22-20
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