Ayu Fu Sheng played well in the game winning on the match during the Petronas Under 18 Championship 2025 at Ipoh badminton academy.(23rd April 2025)—RONNIE CHIN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: All eyes will be on boys’ singles shuttler Ayu Fu Sheng (pic) in today’s fourth round of the World Junior Championships, as he not only chases a quarter-final berth but also shoulders the department’s reputation.
Fu Sheng stands as the country’s sole remaining hope in the event after teammates Kok Wei Xiang, Roslie Razeeq Danial and Lim Boon Le were all knocked out earlier in Guwahati, India.
Ironically, all three of his teammates are ranked higher than him in the world junior rankings, with Wei Xiang at No. 72, Roslie at No. 77 and Boon Le at No. 55.
Fu Sheng, ranked only No. 157 in the world, has defied the odds with an impressive run so far, producing a major upset by defeating world No. 7 Lam Ka To 15-4, 3-15, 16-14 in the third round yesterday.
It was a significant improvement for the Negri Sembilan-born shuttler, whose campaign ended as early as the first round last year.
Fu Sheng will take on Japan’s Shunki Hagiwara today for a place in the last eight.
However, should he fall short, questions are bound to arise over the current state of Malaysia’s men’s singles department, which appear to be struggling to unearth new talents while the senior squad also continue to face challenges in producing consistent results.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s mixed doubles shuttlers enjoyed a fine day at the World Junior Championships, with top seeds Loh Zi Heng-Noraqilah Maisarah showing great resilience to come from behind and beat China’s Wei Jianzhen-Liang Yu En 10-15, 15-10, 15-13 in the third round yesterday.
The pair will next take on another Chinese duo, 10th seeds Feng Yilang-Zhang Jiahan, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tan Zhi Yang-Nicole Tan were also in fine form, setting up a meeting with the United Arab Emirates’ Adithya Kiran-Sakshi Kurbkhelgi after easing past Hong Kong’s Cheng Ying Kit-Hung Ho Yan 15-9, 15-12.
It was disappointment, however, for Datu Anif Isaac-Low Zi Yu, who fell to Indonesia’s Mulky Atmaja-Salma Mufida 15-7, 19-21, 13-15.
Zi Yu, though, redeemed herself in the girls’ doubles when she and Noraqilah cruised into the fourth round after beating Denmark’s Athene Thornnild-Jasmin Willis 15-6, 15-11.
Nicola Chau-Teh Xin Ying also advanced after defeating Sri Lanka’s Sandathi Hewagallage-Pawani Illeperumaarachchi 15-2, 15-7.
In the boys’ doubles, Zi Heng and Zhi Yang continued their strong run by reaching the fourth round following a hard-fought 15-12, 16-14 win over the United States’ Arden Lee-Stanley Xing.
It was a mixed day in the girls’ singles, with only Carine Tee and Oo Shan Zi progressing to the fourth round out of four Malaysian representatives.
Thirteenth seed Lim Zhi Shin went down 10-15, 14-16 to China’s Liu Siya, while Eng Ler Qi fell to Sri Lanka’s Ranithma Liyanage 9-15, 12-15.
Shan Zi will face Japan’s Yuzuno Watanabe today, while Carine will take on eighth seed Unnati Hooda of India for a place in the quarter-finals.
