The Allianz Junior Bad­minton Championship (AJBC) saw double wins for the girls as the second qualifying session hit the Wintel Sport Arena in Taiping, Perak.

Low Hui Yein from SMJK Yuk Cho and Ng Yun Xi from Wesley Methodist School KL (International) won their singles and doubles events in the U-15 Girls’ and U-13 Girls’ categories respectively.

In the U-15 Girls’ Singles, Hui Yein beat Ho Wen Jie of SMK Seafield, while in the Doubles, she and partner Yong Hui Teng from SMK Ayer Tawar beat Chai Xiao Qing from SMJK Pei Yuan and Chang Zhi Qing of SMJK Shing Chung.

This year marks Hui Yein’s fourth participation in AJBC, after making it to the Grand Finals in both the U-13 Girls’ Singles and Doubles of the 2022 and 2023 editions, as well as the semi-finals of the U-15 Girls’ Singles and Doubles in 2024.

“I only train twice a week with my club (Falim BC) and twice more with Perak Badminton Association.

“The rest of the time, I spar with my father and my uncles and that has made the difference for me,” she said.

“Sparring with them creates a competitive atmosphere where I’m playing against players much older than me,” said Hui Yein, whose dream is to be an Olympic champion like her idol South Korean badminton player An Se-young.

Meanwhile, Yun Xi won the U-13 Girls’ Singles by defeating Nur Keisha Zulaika Mohd Zulhasrad from SMK Putrajaya Presint 5(1).

Yun Xi also took the Doubles title, with partner Khor Pei Xuan of SMK Seri Bintang Selatan after securing victory over Nur Keisha and Marissa Aisy Sofea Muhammad Hasrul Nizam from SMK Putrajaya Presint 8(1).

In the U-15 Boys’ Singles category, Darwin Yeong Jun Bin from SMK St George defeated H’Ng Tze Hoong of SMK Desa Perdana.

In the U-15 Boys’ Doubles, Braxton Ling Liq Wei from SMK Methodist teamed up with Cheng Jia Hao from Yik Ching High School to emerge victorious over Muhamad Rafique Naufal Muha­mad Nizam of SMK King Edward VII Taiping and Muhammad Daris Idi Azhar of SMK Datuk Hj Abdul Wahab Perak.

Loo Xuan Le of SMJK Yuk Choy nearly netted a double win when he won the U-13 Boys’ Singles over Phoon William from SMJK Sam Tet and partnered Wong Hong Bin from SMJK Hua Lian in the U-13 Boys’ Doubles final.

However, his doubles pairing lost to William and schoolmate partner Lim Zi Xiong.

A total of 286 players took part in the second qualifying session, with the tournament featuring 10 rounds culminating in the year-end grand finals.

The AJBC Grand Finals 2025 will feature U-13 and U-15 finalists from all the qualifying rounds and will take place in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 5.

Each qualifying round will see 24 players going to the finals.

However, the Under-11 players will not advance to the AJBC Grand Finals.

As in previous years, players participating in AJBC qualifying rounds are not required to pay any entrance fee.

The top three winners in the qualifiers for all age categories will earn RM500, RM300 and RM150 (singles) and RM600, RM400 and RM200 (doubles).

Players finishing in the top three at the grand finals will pocket RM1,000, RM600 and RM300 (singles) and RM1,200, RM800 and RM400 (doubles).

AJBC is supported by Education Ministry’s Sports, Co-curricular and Arts Division and Badminton Association of Malaysia.

Applications are still open for qualifying rounds from July to October, taking place in Sabah, Melaka, Pahang, Kedah, Kelantan and Penang.

For details, visit www.allianz.com.my/ajbc