Malaysia’s bid for Suhandinata Cup glory finished as runners-up after going down 1-2 to defending champions China in the final.

History repeated itself as Malaysia once again finished as Suhandinata Cup runners-up, echoing their 2017 campaign against the same opponent.

Despite the defeat, Malaysia’s juniors refused to make it easy for China, claiming the second game to level the tie at 1-1 and keep their title hopes alive.

A slow start saw Malaysia fall behind early, with Saidatul Saadiah Muhammad losing 5-11 to Yi Qing Yin before Tiew Wei Jie slipped further behind against Jing Yu Luo, leaving China ahead 22-13.

The deficit grew further as Genevie Lim-Low Zi Yu went down 18-33 to Si Chen Shi-Wei Yue Yue, before Zulwaqqarizal Ahmad-Low Zi Yu fell 30-44 to Feng Yi Lang-Li Meng Han.

Damien Ling-Shazmir Irfan Sharul pushed to reduce the deficit but could not halt China's momentum, going down 46-55 to Yi Chen Tu-Wei Gang Zheng.

Malaysia continued to struggle in the second round as Saidatul lagged behind 6-11 against Yi Xin Zhang, while Wei Jie also found it difficult to claw back the deficit against Hong Tian Yue, trailing 18-22.

Genevie-Zi Yu sparked renewed hope for Malaysia after edging ahead 33-30 against Chen Shi-Yue Yue, followed by Shazmir Irfan Sharul-Genevie Lim who kept the pressure on, extending the lead to 44-36 over Yi Lang-Meng Han.

Shazmir Irfan Sharul-Zulwaqqarizal Ahmad came through a tense 17-minute battle against Chen Tu-Gang Zheng, squeezing out a 55-53 victory to claim the second round.

The deciding round got off to an unflattering start for Malaysia, with Saidatul Saadiah Muhammad going down to Qing Yin (3-11) as Wei Jie also struggled to keep pace with Jing Yu Luo, falling behind 9-22.

Genevie-Zi Yu fell 26-33 to Chen Shi-Yi Yue Yue despite their efforts to close the gap.

Waqqa-Zi Yu fell further behind at 35-44 against Yi Lang-Meng Han, before Damien-Shazmir went down 45-55 to Chen Tu-Gang Zheng, leaving Malaysia with the silver medal.

Malaysia will have to wait for another opportunity to end their 15-year wait for the World Junior team title, having last lifted the trophy in Taiwan in 2011.

The juniors will now turn their attention to the individual event, set to take place from 12 to 17 October.