India’s junior team fought bravely before succumbing to a narrow 104-110 defeat to former champions Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships on Monday. In a closely contested tie under the relay scoring system, India came out strong after a 11-9 loss in the opening match.

The boys’ doubles duo of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu got India on the board, followed by a composed win from the girls’ pair of Vennala Kalagotla and Reshika Uthayasooriyan. The result put India ahead at 33-26. Reshika then combined with Bhavya Chhabra to maintain the lead at 44-35, and Rounak Chouhan extended it with another solid performance.

India led for a major part of the tie, but Japan, the 2023 champions, moved ahead in the final stretch, winning the last five matches one after the other. Many of those games went down to the wire, reflecting the grit showed by the Indian squad.

India had topped Group D with wins over Hong Kong China, United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka. The focus now shifts to the individual championships starting on July 23.