2025 BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships
October 6 - October 11
Table of Contents
Last Updated on October 6, 2025
The 2025 BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships, officially known as the Yonex Sunrise BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2025 or the Suhandinata Cup, is the mixed team component of the BWF World Junior Championships for the year 2025. It is the premier international badminton team event for players under the age of 19, organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The tournament features national junior teams competing for the prestigious Suhandinata Cup, preceding the individual events (Eye-Level Cups) of the BWF World Junior Championships. The 2025 edition is notable for its return to India after 17 years and the introduction of a new, innovative team relay scoring format.
Tournament Details
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | 25th (13th since the introduction of the Suhandinata Cup) |
| Date | 6 – 11 October 2025 |
| Venue | National Centre of Excellence, Amingaon |
| Location | Guwahati, Assam, India |
| Organizer | Badminton World Federation (BWF) |
| Host Association | Badminton Association of India (BAI) |
| Defending Champions | Indonesia |
| Participating Nations | 37 (Approximate) |
Host City and Venue
The 2025 BWF World Junior Championships, encompassing both the mixed team and individual events, is being hosted by India for the second time, with the previous occasion being in Pune in 2008.
The host city for the 2025 championships is Guwahati, the largest city in the Indian state of Assam. The event is staged at the National Centre of Excellence (NCE) in Amingaon, a state-of-the-art facility designed to foster Indian sporting talent. Hosting the World Junior Championships marks a significant event for Guwahati and the Badminton Association of India, serving as a platform to showcase the country’s junior badminton development and its capability to host major international tournaments.
Tournament History (Suhandinata Cup)
The BWF World Junior Championships was inaugurated in 1992 as an individual championship. The mixed team championship, known as the Suhandinata Cup, was formally introduced to run alongside the individual events starting in the year 2000. The competition is named after Justian Suhandinata, a BWF Honorary Life Vice President, who was a key figure in the development of the World Junior Championships structure, having organized the precursor event, the Bimantara World Junior Invitational, from 1987 to 1991. The Suhandinata family formally donated the stunning trophy for the mixed team event in 2010.
Historically, the mixed team event has been dominated by Asian badminton powerhouses, with China being the most successful nation, having won the cup a record number of times. The defending champions heading into the 2025 edition are Indonesia, who won the 2024 title in Nanchang, China. The tournament serves as a critical indicator of the future success of national badminton programmes.
Mixed Team Past Champions (Recent Editions)
| Year | Host City | Host Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nanchang | China | Indonesia | China | Malaysia, Japan |
| 2023 | Spokane | United States | China | South Korea | Indonesia, Chinese Taipei |
| 2022 | Santander | Spain | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | Indonesia, Japan |
| 2019 | Kazan | Russia | China | Indonesia | Japan, Thailand |
| 2018 | Markham | Canada | China | South Korea | Japan, Indonesia |
Competition Format
The BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2025 starts with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds to determine the final rankings.
Group Stage
The 37 participating teams are initially divided into eight groups. Teams play a round-robin format within their respective groups. Due to the number of teams, some groups contain five teams, while others have four. Only the top team from each of the eight groups advances directly to the quarter-finals (knockout stage) to compete for the medals. Other teams proceed to knockout matches to determine final placement rankings (9th–16th, 17th–24th, etc.).
Knockout Stage
The knockout stage consists of quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. All matches are played to determine the final ranking of every team.
Scoring System (Innovative Team Relay Format)
A key feature of the 2025 tournament is the implementation of an updated and innovative Team Relay Scoring Format (3 x 45), designed to modernize the sport, enhance athlete well-being, and increase spectator engagement. This is a revised version of the team relay system first trialed at the 2024 edition.
In this format:
- Tie Structure: Each team tie is contested as the best of three sets.
- Set Score: Each set is played to 45 points. The first side to score 45 points wins the set. If the score becomes 44-all, the side scoring the 45th point wins the set (no deuce).
- Matches per Set: A set consists of five consecutive matches played in a predetermined order: Men’s Singles (MS), Women’s Singles (WS), Men’s Doubles (MD), Women’s Doubles (WD), and Mixed Doubles (XD). The order of the five matches remains the same for all three sets (if required).
- Match Scoring: Each of the five matches within a set is played to approximately 9 points.
- The first match starts at 0-0 and ends when one side reaches 9 points.
- The second match starts from the ending score of the first match and continues until one side reaches 18 points (9 + 9).
- The third match continues to 27 points (18 + 9).
- The fourth match continues to 36 points (27 + 9).
- The fifth and final match of the set continues until one side reaches 45 points (36 + 9).
- Service Rule: The side leading the accumulated score at the end of any of the five matches shall serve first in the next match. The side that wins a set serves first in the next set.
This system ensures that every rally in every match contributes to the overall team score and that the tie remains dynamic and unpredictable until the final points are played.
Participating Nations
Approximately 37 teams from all five continental confederations are competing in the 2025 BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships. The nations are grouped as follows (note: groups and group composition are subject to final official confirmation by BWF):
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| A | Thailand (Top Seed), Denmark, Slovenia, Cook Islands |
| B | Chinese Taipei, UAE, Canada, England, Norway |
| C | Indonesia (Defending Champion), Türkiye, Romania, Netherlands |
| D | Poland, USA, Hungary, Ireland, Philippines |
| E | China, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, Bhutan |
| F | Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Vietnam |
| G | France, South Korea, Portugal, Egypt, Uganda |
| H | India (2nd Seed/Host), Hong Kong China, Nepal, Ghana |
The draw ensures strong competition early on, with multiple former champions and medal contenders grouped together, such as the historic rivalry between China and Japan in Group E. Hosts and second-seeded India, aiming for their first-ever mixed team medal, face challenges from Hong Kong China, Nepal, and Ghana in Group H. Defending champions Indonesia are placed in Group C.
Broadcast
The event draws significant media attention, both locally in India and internationally. Live streaming for the matches, particularly the later stages, is typically made available through official BWF and sometimes the host association’s social media channels (e.g., YouTube), with the semi-finals and final often broadcast on national sports channels in the host country and by BWF’s international broadcast partners.