KUALA LUMPUR: The World Junior Championships in Santander, Spain, on Oct 17-30 will be the real test for the Malaysian junior shuttlers, who have not played in any major tournament over the last two years.
BAM have set a one-gold target for the team ahead of the championships, which includes the Suhandinata Cup — a mixed team event.
BAM development committee chairman Datuk Ng Chin Chai said despite the uncertainty, the national body are looking to win at least one gold following the recent showings of several junior shuttlers at senior events.
"This year's edition is different because we have not had a tournament for the past two years (due to Covid-19).
"And we really do not know the strength of our opponents, who have not sent their players out for tournaments.
"Naturally, we would expect traditional powerhouses like China, Japan and South Korea to send their best junior shuttlers, so we have to wait and see.
"However, some of our players like Justin Hoh have done well in recent months at the senior level, so we are banking on them to deliver.
"At the moment, Justin is our best bet, as he is ranked No 3 in the world junior rankings," Chin Chai said.
Having already bagged three titles this year (National Under-21 Championships, Bonn International, and Croatia Open), it is understandable why hopes are high on the 18-year-old, who hopes to break into the senior squad next year.
The 16-member squad will be finalised after a selection — to be held after next week's National Under-18 Championships.
"Justin will not be playing in this tournament as he has already won the Under-21 Championships, but we hope to see the other players proving that they deserve to be in the squad for the world meet.
"We will hold a selection for selected players before finalising the 16-member squad next month.
"As for now, with Justin, Siti Nurshuhaini Azman and Fazriq Razif (doubles), we hope to mount a challenge in the Suhandinata Cup," added Chin Chai.
For the mixed team event, Malaysia, who are seeded 12th, are in Group A with Indonesia, Sweden and Latvia. Only the top teams from each of the eight groups will reach the quarter-finals.
The last time Malaysia did well at the world meet was when Goh Jin Wei bagged the girls' singles title in 2018 in Markham, Canada, while Pearly Tan-Toh Ee Wei secured the doubles silver.
