Spain met one of the powerhouses of global badminton on Wednesday at the BWF World Junior Championships, dropping a 0-2 team match to Japan that kept the squad out of the tournament quarterfinals and shifted its focus to the 9th-through-16th-place playoff bracket.
Early Deficits Set the Tone in the Opening Match
The Japanese squad established control from the opening exchanges. Sara del Castillo dropped the first individual tie to Yuzuno Watanabe by an 11-2 scoreline. In the women’s doubles, Iziar Barcala and Sofía García narrowed the gap slightly against Ria Haga and Rio Yamakita before finishing at 22-5. Guillermo Muñoz and Sofía García attempted to stabilize the fixture against Haru Masuda and Ria Haga, but the Japanese pair pulled away to 33-10.
The Cordoba-born Muñoz returned to the court for a men’s singles clash against Akio Yamaguchi, producing one of the tightest opening-set battles of the morning. The Spanish player maintained a steady rhythm through long stretches before yielding an 11-8 partial score, pushing the cumulative deficit to 44-18. A men’s doubles pairing of Xoel Álvarez and Adrián Rodríguez against Mahiro Oku and Masato Yamashiro capped the first set at 55-23.
Second-Set Resilience Against the Group F1 Champions
The second tier of matches followed a similar script as Japan utilized its depth. Inés Poncela and Sara del Castillo opened against Aoi Banno and Nijika Kamata, bringing the score to 22-8. Xoel Álvarez and Noelia López then contested the mixed doubles against Masato Yamashiro and Rio Yamakita, who stretched the margin to 33-14.
Raúl Bergua of Huesca delivered another of Spain’s most competitive individual performances, standing up to Taisei Kushima to push the tally to 44-26. Yaidel Gil and Adrián Rodríguez closed out the team fixture in men’s doubles against Daiki Masuda and Hiromu Terashima. The Asian duo sealed the second set at 55-30, securing the 0-2 sweep.
The loss served as a stark competitive reality check against a nation that arrived in the knockout stages as the winner of Group F1, having dispatched both Germany and Portugal by 2-0 margins. Japan holds a historic pedigree at the Junior World Championships with 52 total medals across team and individual events.
Next Steps in the Placement Bracket
The Spanish delegation returned to the court Wednesday afternoon to face Turkey in the 9th-16th placement bracket with the objective of securing the highest possible finish in the overall classification. Once the team tournament concludes, attention will shift to the individual competitions running from October 12 to October 18, where all twelve members of the Spanish roster will compete.
