PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Bryan Goonting-Aaron Tai stayed in the hunt for a medal in the boys’ doubles in the World Junior Championships.
Bryan-Aaron defeated India’s Nicholas Raj-Tushar Suveer 21-14, 21-17 in the fourth round on Thursday to make it into the quarter-finals in Spokane, Washington.
Standing in their way in the last eight are Japan’s Kosuke Kakuta-Kaito Sugawara.
It will be the 18-year-old Bryan’s second consecutive boys’ doubles quarter final in a major junior event this year after he also reached the same stage in the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta in July with Low Han Chen.
That time, Bryan and Han Chen had missed the opportunity to assure a medal after losing 21-18, 14-21, 16-21 to Indonesia’s Zidane Efendi-Kleopas Prakoso.
Malaysia last won medals in the individual events in the world junior meet in 2018 through Goh Jin Wei, who captured gold in the girls’ singles and Pearly Tan-Toh Ee Wei, who won silver in the girls’ doubles in Markham, Canada.
This time, Malaysia will have further opportunities to win medals through Mohd Faiq Masawi (boys’ singles), Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting (girls’ doubles) and Han Chen-Chong Jie Yu (mixed doubles) after all followed Bryan-Aaron into the quarter-finals.
Faiq however has a tough challenge against China’s reigning Asian champion Hu Zhean.
Xin Yee-Carmen face Japan’s Maya Taguchi-Aya Tamaki next while Han Chen-Jie Yu have to overcome Indonesia’s Adrian Pratama-Felisha Alberta for a place in the last four.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Fourth round
Boys’ singles: Mohd Faiq Masawi bt Alexander Ringbaek (Den) 21-18, 21-7.
Boys’ doubles: Bryan Goonting-Aaron Tai bt Nicholas Raj-Tushar Suveer (Ind) 21-14, 21-17; Chen Yongrui-Hu Keyuan (Chn) bt Kang Khai Xing-Low Han Chen 11-21, 21-17, 21-12.
Girls’ singles: Mihane Endo (Jpn) bt Ong Xin Yee 21-9, 8-21, 21-15.
Girls’ doubles: Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting bt Chloe Ho-Ella Lin (US) 15-21, 21-7, 21-11.
Mixed doubles: Low Han Chen-Chong Jie Yu bt Rodrigo Sanjurjo-Nikol Karulla (Spa) 21-9, 21-10.
