Threatened by a younger counterpart

It's perfectly normal to be taken aback when a younger counterpart takes the cake which was meant for you, there is no way you are gonna get all that you want that easily. In a way, over the years, even you have done the same thing to your seniors i.e. took their piece of cake (for a reason or just by plain luck). So, be a sport and don't have any hard feelings when a younger counterpart takes the opportunity meant for you, just apply a little logic, it might be because there is something far better inline for you, or may be because he was the obvious choice, not you.

I have seen this happen but, I have never experienced it, probably because I belong to the youngest of the working class. But, I have been in schools and colleges, I got threatened by a junior a lot of times and there was too much bad blood between us for months together. The point to be noted is that I never felt bad when I took on some seniors and scored better than him. 

You see why? it is because when some of us win over our seniors, we tend to think that the caliber and intelligence we posses is already above those experienced guys (maybe, but not always). On the contrary, when someone younger to us shows real intelligence and beats us in some task, we feel "its just one of those days". For all bosses, it is perfectly fine to let a younger counterpart lead a task if you think he is really capable of and also because a second look is worth it, and For the chosen (younger) one, you gotta know that you have got a chance to prove, and you still haven't made it yet.