33rd Li Ning Cup Asian Junior Individual Championships 2026, 20-24 May, Panzhihua, Sichua, China
The 33rd edition of the Asian Junior Individual Championships came to a close at the picturesque Zhangyi Garden, where an all-glass showcourt was erected amidst restaurants and tourist shops, providing a vibrant backdrop for Asia’s top junior squash talents.
Alex Wan reports
A total of eight categories were contested across five days in Hongge, Panzhihua, Sichuan, China — Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 for both boys and girls. The Hongge Training Base, a centralized high-performance training venue for Chinese athletes across various sports, hosted its first-ever international event.
Hong Kong China and Pakistan emerged as the most successful nations with two titles each, while hosts China, Singapore, Malaysia and India claimed one title apiece.
Asian Junior Champs 2026 Champions
GU13 Kareena Sashikumar (SGP), BU13 Leung Ngo San (HKG)
GU15 Yin Zhiyuan (CHN), BU15 Ahmad Rayyan Khalil (PAK)
GU17 Harleein Tan (MAS), BU17 Nauman Khan (PAK)
GU19 Helen Tang (HKG), BU19 Aryaveer Dewan (IND)
Under-13 : Historic first for Singapore
Top seed Kareena Sashikumar delivered a historic breakthrough for Singapore in the Girls’ Under-13 event, becoming the nation’s first-ever Asian Junior age-group champion after a dominant week in which she did not drop a single game.
In the final, Kareena swept aside Japan’s Rio Yoshino in just 15 minutes, conceding only six points throughout the match. Yoshino, who had upset the second seed the previous day, struggled to find answers against Kareena’s near-flawless performance, with the Singaporean committing just one unforced error throughout the contest.
Kareena’s triumph also marked Singapore’s first Asian Junior title since Mah Li Lian’s victory nearly four decades ago in 1987.
In the Boys final, Hong Kong China’s Leung Ngo San produced one of the most remarkable comebacks of the tournament, rallying from two games down to defeat India’s Amarya Bajaj 5-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6.
After being thoroughly outplayed in the opening two games, Leung displayed tremendous resilience and mental strength to turn the match around and secure Hong Kong China’s first boys’ Asian Junior title since Leo Au’s triumph in 2008.
Leung’s fighting spirit had already been evident throughout the latter stages of the tournament, as the final marked his third consecutive five-game victory following hard-fought wins over Singapore’s Kaelen Low in the quarter-finals and India’s Abhyuday Arora in the semi-finals.
Under-15 : Zhiyuan delights home crowd
China’s Yin Zhiyuan, better known among her peers as “Summer”, delighted the home crowd by capturing her second consecutive Asian Junior title, following her Under-13 success the previous year.
Backed by strong local support, the Shanghai native produced an assured performance in the Girls’ Under-15 final, defeating Pakistan’s Mahnoor Ali in straight games in a repeat of the Under-13 final from the year before.
Summer’s path to the title, however, was far from straightforward. She first overcame Malaysia’s Maisarah in the quarter-finals — an opponent she had lost to in their previous two meetings — before staging a dramatic comeback from two games down against Hong Kong China’s Cassidy Mikaela Lin in the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s Ahmad Rayyan Khalil justified his top seeding in the Boys’ Under-15 event with a commanding run to the title. He defeated Malaysia’s Vidhuran Ruthiran 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 in under 30 minutes in the final.
Rayyan enjoyed a smooth campaign throughout the tournament, winning every match in straight games without exceeding the half-hour mark in any encounter.
Under-17 : One up for Harleen
Malaysia’s Harleein Tan went one step further after finishing runner-up in the same category a year earlier, capturing the Girls’ Under-17 crown with a hard-fought victory over India’s Anika Dubey.
Despite later revealing that she experienced breathing difficulties during the match, Harleein recovered from a game down to secure a 3-1 victory in 40 minutes.
Dubey, the joint third seed, had advanced to the final after Malaysia’s Jinoreka Ning retired while trailing by a game in their semi-final encounter. Harleein, meanwhile, booked her place in the final with a straight-games victory over Hong Kong China’s Chloe Lo.
Pakistan’s Nauman Khan emerged as the lowest-seeded champion of the tournament in the Boys’ Under-17 event. The joint 9/16 seed defeated India’s Shiven Agarwal in four games in a highly charged 46-minute final.
In a match played amid intense support from both Pakistani and Indian spectators, Nauman recovered after narrowly losing the opening game in a tie-break to take control of the contest and dominate the remaining three games.
Nauman had impressed throughout the week, winning all his matches in straight games up to the quarter-finals, including a notable victory over Malaysian second seed Muhammad Raziq Putra, before overcoming compatriot and joint third seed Muhammad Umair Arif in the semi-finals.
Under-19 : Tang steps up, Derwan delivers for India
Hong Kong China’s Helen Tang added the Girls’ Under-19 title to the Under-17 crown she won the previous year.
The second seed dropped her only game of the tournament in the final against Malaysia’s Whitney Isabelle Wilson before prevailing 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3 in just under 40 minutes.
Wilson had earlier eliminated top seed Cheung Tsz Ching of Hong Kong China, but she was ultimately unable to contain Tang’s relentless pace and attacking play in the championship match.
The Boys’ Under-19 final took place later in the evening at Zhangyi Garden, shortly before the closing dinner ceremony.
South Korea’s Lee Jonghyeok emerged as the surprise finalist after impressive victories over Pakistan’s second seed Abdullah Nawaz and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Alnafsan in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
Awaiting him was India’s Aryaveer Dewan, the joint third seed who had earlier upset Malaysia’s top seed Nickhileswar Moganasundharam in the semi-finals.
Aryaveer made a blistering start to the final, taking the opening game 11-2. Although Lee settled into the contest thereafter and produced several closely contested rallies, Aryaveer proved more clinical on the decisive points to secure the title 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 in 59 minutes.
