KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — The national junior badminton squad ended their impressive campaign at the Malaysia Junior International Challenge Badminton Championships 2026 after clinching three of the five titles contested at Stadium Titiwangsa here today.
Second seeds Irfan Shazmir-Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta set the ball rolling for Malaysia when they upset teammates and top seeds Ahmad Redzuan-Teh Si Yan 21-12, 21-18 in 31 minutes in the mixed doubles final.
Malaysia’s dominance continued in the men’s doubles event, with another all-Malaysian final seeing Ahmad Redzuan-Isyraf Hafizin defeat Damien Ling-Irfan 21-18, 21-10 in 39 minutes.
Men’s singles player Tiew Wei Jie delivered the third title for Malaysia after upsetting the second seed from Thailand, Punnatat Prempunpong, 21-16, 21-11 in 47 minutes.
“For this tournament, I took a step-by-step approach. But once I reached the final, my target was definitely to win.
“I had already studied my opponent before this match,” he said when met after the match.
Malaysia’s hopes of securing a fourth title were dashed when women’s doubles pair Rachel Tan-Xin Yin Teh lost to Thailand’s Chantharat Marndakul-Pearploy Suttiwarayanon 15-21, 12-21 in a 47-minute battle.
Thailand’s Kungkaew Kakanik emerged women’s singles champion after defeating Chin Yun Cheng of Taiwan 21-19, 21-15 in 43 minutes. — Bernama
