Team Philippines beat Team Denmark in two sets, continuing their journey in the classification round of the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championship 2025.
Team Philippines continued to make waves at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championship 2025, defeating Team Denmark 2–0 (45–40, 45–36) in the 9th–16th classification round held in Guwahati, Assam, India.
The young Filipinos showed poise and teamwork throughout the tie, battling from behind early in both sets before finishing strong behind the duo of Ralph Dalojo and Jamal Pandi, who sealed both sets in the decisive boys’ doubles matches.
In the first set, Anders Rasmussen and Caroline Mouritsen gave Denmark a slim 18–17 lead after the opening singles matches.
But the Philippines stormed back through Jamal Pandi and Mary Untal, who won the mixed doubles to turn the tide at 27–22.
Andrea Hernandez and Untal widened the gap with a 36–25 girls’ doubles win before Dalojo and Pandi delivered the clincher, 45–40, in the boys’ doubles to take the set.
Denmark again started strong in the second set, but the Filipinos regrouped quickly.
Christel Fuentespina struck back in the girls’ singles, giving the Philippines an 18–15 lead before Pandi and Untal extended it to 27–21 in the mixed doubles.
From there, Hernandez and Untal held off their Danish counterparts, 36–31, setting up another winning finish from Dalojo and Pandi, who closed out the sweep at 45–36.
With the victory, the Philippines advanced to the 9th–12th classification, where they will face Sri Lanka next.
The campaign already marks the best finish ever for the country’s junior badminton team, which placed 25th last year.
This year’s World Junior Mixed Team Championship also features an experimental scoring system introduced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Each tie is played in a best-of-three format, with teams racing to 45 points per set across five matches—men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
The new system replaces the previous 110-point relay format.
The breakthrough win not only secured the Filipinos a spot in the top 12 but also showcased the depth and progress of the country’s junior badminton program on the global stage.
[Editor’s note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]