Mayla uses Asian Junior Championships as lesson ahead of World Championships

Indonesian women’s singles shuttler Mayla Cahya Afilian Pratiwi is using the 2026 Asian Junior Championships as important evaluation material ahead of the 2026 World Junior Championships (WJC). Mayla was halted in the quarter-finals after losing to China’s Yi Qing Yin with a score of 17-21, 10-21 at the Yatsushiro City General Gymnasium, Japan, on Friday. “The first game was quite okay, but in the second game I wasted a lot of balls and made my own mistakes,” Mayla said in an official statement from PP PBSI after the match. In the first game, Mayla was still able to put up a fight and keep the points close with Yi. However, after losing the opening game, the young Indonesian player struggled to escape the opponent’s pressure in the second game. Mayla said Yi had an attacking quality that was quite troublesome, especially from her smash shots and quick net play. “The opponent had a sharp smash and her front-court balls were fast,” said Mayla. Despite being stopped in the women’s singles quarter-finals, Mayla believes the experience of facing a strong player like Yi is valuable preparation to improve her performance in the next tournament. She said focus and mindset are the two main aspects that must be addressed before appearing at the 2026 World Junior Championships, which are scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt, in early October. “For the WJC later, I want to improve my focus again and my mindset must be strengthened further,” said Mayla.