The under-19 team world championship brought many new rules, but the balance of power hasn’t changed much compared to recent years. As expected, the two giants, Indonesia and China, faced off in the final.
Both teams fielded their strongest lineups, ensuring excitement and high-quality competition. Pre-match predictions favored the Chinese team, as the hosts had excelled all week, losing only one out of 50 „mini matches” played. They started well in the final, with Xu Wen Jing confidently taking the lead against last year’s Junior Asian champion, Mutiara Ayu Puspitasari in the girls’ singles. However, the girls’ doubles turned the tide dramatically. The Indonesian Meida/Nastine duo scored 15 points, transforming a 4-point deficit from the singles into a 7-point lead.
Indonesia extended their lead to 15 points, largely thanks to the continued brilliance of the Meida/Nastine pair in their second match. Although China made a strong push in the final stages, the gap was too large to overcome, allowing Indonesia to claim the Suhandinata Cup for the second time in their history.
Ignatius Nunung Subandoro, the Indonesian head coach, said after the match that he was very proud of his team, as they worked together as a true team throughout the entire tournament. With this victory, they avenged the Chinese team, who had won the Junior Asian Championship team event in Indonesia a few months ago. Now it was Indonesia’s turn to celebrate in Nanchang in front of the Chinese fans.
Apart from the final, there were also some surprising results in the other placement matches. The South Korean team, which has won the Suhandinata Cup three times, finished only 13th, behind teams such as Poland and the United Arab Emirates. It should be noted that the Koreans were unlucky with their draw.
The United States reached the quarterfinals by defeating Thailand and then surprised Denmark in the battle for seventh place.
It’s also worth highlighting the French team, which is becoming an increasingly strong force in this sport and could get even closer to the top teams in the future.
The third-place podium was shared by Malaysia and Japan, two traditional Asian powerhouses.