Taiwan shuttlers lose mixed doubles final at World Junior Championships

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) Taiwanese shuttlers Lai Po-yu (賴柏佑) and Sun Liang-ching (孫亮晴) lost in straight sets, 18-21, 14-21, to Chinese opponents in the final of the mixed doubles at the World Junior Championships held in Nanchang, China on Sunday.

Despite losing to the tournament's second-seeded duo, Lin Xiangyi (林祥毅) and Liu Yuanyuan (劉圓圓), Lai and Sun made history by earning Taiwan's first-ever silver medal in mixed doubles at the championship.

The Taiwanese pairing started the first set confidently and briefly led 9-7, but errors started to creep into their game and several return mistakes allowed their opponents to score six consecutive points and seize the initiative in the first game.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Lai and Sun taking a 9-6 lead after the score was tied five times early on, only to be swept aside when their Chinese opponents went on a run of nine consecutive points, decisively shifting the momentum of the final and going on to win the match.

Although this is the first time Lai and Sun have teamed up, they played well throughout the tournament, their coach Su Yi-neng (蘇義能) told CNA.

Even though Sun is only 16 years old, her performance at the net is already impressive and she has a great future ahead of her, Su said.

Taiwan's previous best mixed doubles performance in the World Junior Championships was a bronze medal in 2004.