KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's hopes of reaching their first final in the Badminton Asian Junior Championships (BAJC) since 2011 were dashed after they fell 3-1 to China in the semi-finals of the 2024 edition in Yogyakarta, Indonesia today. The national team started strongly, with the boys' doubles pair of Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai putting them 1-0 up with a hard-fought 26-24, 25-23 win over Hu Ke Yuan-Lin Xiang Yi. However, national girls' singles player Ong Xin Yee was unable to maintain the momentum in the second match, losing 15-21, 13-21 to Xu Wen Jing. Eight-time champions China then took a 2-1 lead when Wang Zi Jun downed Razeeq Rosli 21-17, 21-9 in the boys' singles. China then booked their first final in six years when their girls' doubles pair of Chen Fan Shu Tian-Liu Jia Yue outplayed Malaysia's Carmen Ting-Nicole Chau 21-12, 21-9. Malaysia ended the campaign time with a bronze, which they last won in 2018. Source: BERNAMA News Agency