Sho Sasaki ( 佐々木翔 )

[Skewlz]

I think this is a very underrated player that doesn't get enough recognition. He switched his sponsor from Yonex to Wilson. Any thoughts upon this amazing aggressive player from Japan?

[Fidget]

He is amazing and aggresive.
And from listening to Gillian Clark's commentary, she may have a crush on him.:o

He is so quick and never says die. I'm sure that disheartens a lot of his opponents. However the really top guys seem to have more court smarts than he does.
In the few matches I've seen Sasaki seems to get flustered when his Blitzkrieg style doesn't phase a Lin Dan or a Lee Chong Wei. Then Sho got impatient and ended up making a lot of unforced errors.

Nevertheless, he is an exciting player. I'd love to see a match between him and Tien Minh Nguyen.:)

[cooler]

He is amazing and aggresive.
And from listening to Gillian Clark's commentary, she may have a crush on him.:o

He is so quick and never says die. I'm sure that disheartens a lot of his opponents. However the really top guys seem to have more court smarts than he does.
In the few matches I've seen Sasaki seems to get flustered when his Blitzkrieg style doesn't phase a Lin Dan or a Lee Chong Wei. Then Sho got impatient and ended up making a lot of unforced errors.

Nevertheless, he is an exciting player. I'd love to see a match between him and Tien Minh Nguyen.:)
i havent seen sasaki play much, only against LD. I do recall chen jin had some problem up against sasaki. SS plays a very unconventional style of badminton so it could catch alot of top players off guard. Only the top top players can learn and change style in time to counter SS's style.

[jhirata]

He beat Shoji Sato at the All Japanese Nationals last year, breaking Sato's winning-spree which went on for about 5 years..

[oiseau]

He beat Shoji Sato at the All Japanese Nationals last year, breaking Sato's winning-spree which went on for about 5 years..

the year before, to be precise.
Kenichi Tago took the title last year.

[Skewlz]

I think Chen Jin had a problem with him in AE08, due to a net violation call.

[Skewlz]

oops i meant AE09

[george@chongwei]

I think Chen Jin had a problem with him in AE08, due to a net violation call.
actually the winner could be sho sasaki that night:rolleyes:

[Skewlz]

Sho Sasaki put up a good fight againist Chen Jin in the AE09. Chen Jin's reaction was pretty funny haha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puyT9Ad2rfM

[Pakito]

I remember this japanese player because the mention of his name makes me think of the japanese alcohol beverage Sake, haha.

His strength and forte are his stamina and a powerful smash reaching up to 270km/h which is recorded during the 2010 Thomas Cup semi finals against Indon Simon Santoso. His style of play requires tremendous stamina as his short stature and attacking play needs superb court coverage. His military crewcut hairstyle does him good as it provides good heat dissipation during stressful and crucial stages of the game, haha.

Park Joo Boong does a good job molding this player into a game with good court craft and game tactics. His opponents who can defeat him are deftly fast players like Lin Dan and LCW. I doubt if any stroke playing opponents can beat him.

If Sho Sasaki's stamina remains this good or even improves, he will be a player to watch out for. Wong Choon Han lost to him again recently at the Australian Open.

Also, I think another reason players lose to him is because he does not give you the impression that he is a dangerous player and this is where players will be scalped because of taking him too lightly.

[Skewlz]

^ hahaha pro analysis dude.

[george@chongwei]

actually the winner could be sho sasaki that night:rolleyes:
Nobody mentions about his upset win over chen jin yesterday..? Anyway, all the credits should goes to Sho sasaki..after the controversial 09 AE match, i think he have improve a lot and at last figure out a way to defeat chen jin:)

[Dokkie]

Tago needs to watch out, Sho beat CJ again and he's now above Tago in the WR. :) I just love this guy and his style of play, actually saw him in action in october at the Dutch Open. Quite impressive.

[limb7567]

Sho Sasaki put up a good fight againist Chen Jin in the AE09. Chen Jin's reaction was pretty funny haha.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puyT9Ad2rfM

I saw that match, it was 19-20, match point to Chen Jin. He lost to Chen Jin over a net kill but he claimed Chen Jin racquet had went over the net. Too bad this video ended early, he actually went on protesting the umpire call for at least 2 minutes, refusing to accept the call or shaking hand with Chen Jin.

At the Malaysia GP Gold today, Sho Sasaki protested a line call at 18-14 during his semi-final match against LCW. He was completely in distraught with the call and within 1 minute gave up the next three points and wrapped the match away for LCW. BTW, the linesman was right, the video replay shows the shuttle hitting right inside the line.

Mental toughness is just as important as physical toughness. No? :cool:

[Voltric]

His military crewcut hairstyle does him good as it provides good heat dissipation during stressful and crucial stages of the game, haha.


Imagine how good LCW and LD would be if only they would shave their heads bald.

[Pakito]

Imagine how good LCW and LD would be if only they would shave their heads bald.

Haha, LCW and LD are still deftly faster than Sho in speed and power.

[allyjack110]

I think this is a very underrated player that doesn't get enough recognition. He switched his sponsor from Yonex to Wilson. Any thoughts upon this amazing aggressive player from Japan?

I first heard of Sho Sasaki last year when I was researching into a new Wilson racket. In the end I bought a Wilson 'K' Brave - but that is a different story! I've seen him play several times, most recently against Lin Dan in this year's Sudirman Cup, and I am also very impressed with his style of play. Whilst Lin dan beat him in two straight sets, both games were incredibly close; 22-20 and 21-19. He has an awesome smash and has incredible court coverage for a bloke of size. He is currently ranked no. 16 (16/06/11), two places ahead of Tago.

I also love his Recon racket.

[jasonmarc]

Well done, Congratulation for beating Olympic and World Champions in Indonesia Open.............!!

[extremenanopowe]

nippon... kojak. good....! moshi moshi. ;)

[allyjack110]

Well done Sho. 'US Open champion 2011'.

[kwun]

Sho @ US Open:

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102953&d=1310920082

[kwun]

anyone know the detail of his sponsorship? he uses a Wilson racket but all his apparels are Yonex including his bag.

[naistav]

Sho Sasaki always find difficulties when facing Simon Santoso. If the game didn't go to rubber, Sho cannot handle Simon. But due to weak mentality of Simon, if anything goes to rubber, Sho usually took it.

[wilcan]

Sho Sasaki always find difficulties when facing Simon Santoso. If the game didn't go to rubber, Sho cannot handle Simon. But due to weak mentality of Simon, if anything goes to rubber, Sho usually took it.
Sasaki the one who beat Simon in last year TC,right??

[allyjack110]

anyone know the detail of his sponsorship? he uses a Wilson racket but all his apparels are Yonex including his bag.

Nice pic Kwun. I'm somewhat confused by Sho's current sponsorship set-up also. I suspect there may be some conflicting clause in his sponsorship contract as I have never seen him sport the Wilson logo on any of his rackets - he tends to play with a bare stringbed. Fellow compatriot Kenichi Tago also plays without a stencil / logo on his rackets, although I find that confusing since he uses both Yonex rackets and apparel. Similarly, I've seen Hirose play with her Nanospeed 7700 without the 'YY' logo on her strings either - most notably during this year's AE final. Then again, it may just be down to personal preference. Judging by the colour of his strings I suspect Sho is either using the Nanogy 95 or 98.

[allyjack110]

Nice pic Kwun. I'm somewhat confused by Sho's current sponsorship set-up also. I suspect there may be some conflicting clause in his sponsorship contract as I have never seen him sport the Wilson logo on any of his rackets - he tends to play with a bare stringbed. Fellow compatriot Kenichi Tago also plays without a stencil / logo on his rackets, although I find that confusing since he uses both Yonex rackets and apparel. Similarly, I've seen Hirose play with her Nanospeed 7700 without the 'YY' logo on her strings either - most notably during this year's AE final. Then again, it may just be down to personal preference. Judging by the colour of his strings I suspect Sho is either using the Nanogy 95 or 98.

Whoops. Forget what I just said.

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[kwun]

Sho reminds me of a buddha...

[MilGauss]

He looks like boxer.

[allyjack110]

He looks like a member of Japan's Special Forces Group. He just might cause an upset at next month's World Championship. Either way he is a damn fine badminton player.

[ctjcad]

anyone know the detail of his sponsorship? he uses a Wilson racket but all his apparels are Yonex including his bag.

Nice pic Kwun. I'm somewhat confused by Sho's current sponsorship set-up also. I suspect there may be some conflicting clause in his sponsorship contract as I have never seen him sport the Wilson logo on any of his rackets - he tends to play with a bare stringbed. Fellow compatriot Kenichi Tago also plays without a stencil / logo on his rackets, although I find that confusing since he uses both Yonex rackets and apparel. Similarly, I've seen Hirose play with her Nanospeed 7700 without the 'YY' logo on her strings either - most notably during this year's AE final. Then again, it may just be down to personal preference. Judging by the colour of his strings I suspect Sho is either using the Nanogy 95 or 98.
..if not mistaken, Shintaro Ikeda is also sponsored by Wilson (uses Wilson rackets and has a Wilson logo on his stringbed~don't think he borrows the rackets from Sasaki)..

[extremenanopowe]

Shaolin master. ;)

[ctjcad]

anyone know the detail of his sponsorship? he uses a Wilson racket but all his apparels are Yonex including his bag.
..i believe besides Sho and Shintaro I., Misaki Matsutomo and also Kenta Kazuno might also be sponsored by Wilson..hmm, curious..

[jhirata]

I can so easily imagine him wearing some kamikaze attire..

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Grats to him for winning the US open :)

[kwun]

sounds like a mission for madbad to find out...

[kwun]

Shaolin master. ;)

yes! that's the closest. a warrior monk from Japan yielding a badminton racket. :)

[allyjack110]

His victory at the US Open has certainly helped his World Ranking. He is now officially 12th in the world, one place behind Bao Chunlai. Well done Sho.

[LD rules!]

Some have been asking about Sasaki's sponsorship, As far as I know. The JPN team are sponsored by YY for clothing, therefore all players in the A and B teams have the YY logo on the back of their shirts. I believe that the JPN players are allowed to source other sponsorship deals to wear other brands shoes and rackets (although I believe they are "encouraged" to be fully sponsored for rackets and shoes) therefore you may see many JPN players with YY clothing, however many wear Mizuno shoes and some use Mizuno/Gosen/Wilson rackets. This sponsorship agreement between Yonex and the Japan team, is different to the one in place between YY and Netherlands, where all players have to wear YY when representing the country in team events (hence Pang Palayama etc don't play) while I am at it, the writing on the front of the JPN players shirts, are in fact the clubs they represent, hence they have different writing on each shirt (e.g Sasaki has Tonami as his club, Tago club is NTT East) others clubs represented by many international players include JR (Japan Railways) Sanyo and Panasonic.

[kwun]

if the players can get better sponsorship via other manufacturers, that's good for them. badminton players certainly need as much sponsors as it is tough making a living being a badminton player.

[ctjcad]

Some have been asking about Sasaki's sponsorship, As far as I know. The JPN team are sponsored by YY for clothing, therefore all players in the A and B teams have the YY logo on the back of their shirts. I believe that the JPN players are allowed to source other sponsorship deals to wear other brands shoes and rackets (although I believe they are "encouraged" to be fully sponsored for rackets and shoes) therefore you may see many JPN players with YY clothing, however many wear Mizuno shoes and some use Mizuno/Gosen/Wilson rackets....
a bit off topic:
thanks for the input..any source(s) for the infos?
Also, regarding JPN players being allowed to wear other brands during a tournament, does that apply to every tourney they participate in? or only certain tourney which is approved by the JPN badminton association?
Because, I was also told from another source (this is unconfirmed), JPN players are required to wear/use YY brands (incl. non-attires) at tourneys (within the calendar yr) which are approved by the JPN badminton association.
..waiting for madbad's report..:cool:

[kwun]

a video of Sho talking about his Wilson racket:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKp_plq1TvI&feature=player_embedded#at=72

[Ton-Min-Bad]

My Japanese isn't really perfect, but it seems as if Wilson rackets make him happy! :)

[allyjack110]

G.I Sho anyone?

I had several 'K' Braves, which I really enjoyed playing with, but experienced endless problems with the handle and cone. I had four in total, two of which were sent back to the retailer. Also, the gold chrome was a magnet for scuffs and scratches. A very decent performer though.

[demolidor]

@ Dutch Open 2010 :cool:

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[allyjack110]

Sho is drawn against Lin Dan in the Quarter-Final of the World Championships. I honestly think he could go all the way if he manages to beat LD - a feat which he has done before. However, he could potentially meet Gade in the Semis, a player he has never beaten in six previous attempts. I suppose at this stage of the tournament any opponent you are drawn against is going to be a challenge. Good Luck Sho.

[george@chongwei]

Good luck against lin dan tonight:)

[chris-ccc]

Good luck against lin dan tonight:)
.
I wonder how Sho is planning to play LD tonight?

Longer rallies, or short ones with lots of smashes and lots of attacks?
.

[allyjack110]

He is now officially 9th in the world (18th Aug 11). I'm only now getting the chance to watch his QF match against Lin Dan as BWF's live steaming of the tournament was geo-blocked in the latter stages. A good match, but I felt he played too many high shots to Lin Dan's forehand side. I suppose it begins to get complicated when you are playing a left-hander and you are left-handed yourself.

[allyjack110]

This guy is on fire. Another Grand Prix final (Vietnam) and against Nguyen Tien Minh....again! At 28 he's a bit of a late bloomer, certainly by Asian standards. I really hope he manages to win a Super-Series.

[twobeer]

I suppose it begins to get complicated when you are playing a left-hander and you are left-handed yourself.

?? Why would it bew more complicated to play a left-hander if you are lef-handed yourself, than if you are right-handed?

Most people are right-handed so it will always be more familiar to play against a right-hander. But this is no different just because he is left handed himself.. He still will play predomeniantely against right handers, and it may feel abit awkward to meet a leftie.. On the other hand this also holds true for his opponent that will have to adjust to that HE is left-handed.. So most likely it is probably more of an advantage than a dissadvantage for him against LD for example.

[twobeer]

G.I Sho anyone?

I had several 'K' Braves, which I really enjoyed playing with, but experienced endless problems with the handle and cone. I had four in total, two of which were sent back to the retailer. Also, the gold chrome was a magnet for scuffs and scratches. A very decent performer though.

Some players I know over here sponsored by Wilson are having serious quality problems with their gear (they complain about the quality even though they got unlimited free replacements!! That says alot, I think). Their rackets seems to be among the lowest quality and with frequent breakages (especially handles/cones etc).. No one of the sponsored players uses wilson strings. The Shuttles (even the best topline 100 are so so). They seem to compete more on "known" tennis-brand and pricing than high-quality stuff.

[allyjack110]

Some players I know over here sponsored by Wilson are having serious quality problems with their gear (they complain about the quality even though they got unlimited free replacements!! That says alot, I think). Their rackets seems to be among the lowest quality and with frequent breakages (especially handles/cones etc).. No one of the sponsored players uses wilson strings. The Shuttles (even the best topline 100 are so so). They seem to compete more on "known" tennis-brand and pricing than high-quality stuff.

What specific rackets are your friends experiencing the problems with, the BLX or 'K' Factor range? Likewise, I read that the N-code series experienced a number of quality issues. Regarding Wilson's own badminton strings, as far as I know they are OEM. I have a pair of Wilson Elite 1000 court shoes which are amongst the best pair of badminton shoes I have worn. However, Sho's shoes, clothing and choice of string are supplied by Yonex.

[twobeer]

What specific rackets are your friends experiencing the problems with, the BLX or 'K' Factor range? Likewise, I read that the N-code series experienced a number of quality issues. Regarding Wilson's own badminton strings, as far as I know they are OEM. I have a pair of Wilson Elite 1000 court shoes which are amongst the best pair of badminton shoes I have worn. However, Sho's shoes, clothing and choice of string are supplied by Yonex.

As far back as I can remember their rackets have been of questionable quality (but priced modestly) and have more QC-issues than most other competitors. from the n1/n2 days to the [K]-stuff to the BLX (basalt) stuff. Everything they do is OEM, not only the string.. They have no own factories for badminton rackets, shoes etc. and they OEM everything badminton-wise from different factories in China as far as i know. As you say Sho uses YY-clothing and shoes. It is a bit puzzling why he uses YY shoes though, most of the Jap national team uses yy-clothing and mizuno shoes, so I assume he signed something himself not partof the national-team sponsor-package?!?

[Hisashi]

As far back as I can remember their rackets have been of questionable quality (but priced modestly) and have more QC-issues than most other competitors. from the n1/n2 days to the [K]-stuff to the BLX (basalt) stuff. Everything they do is OEM, not only the string.. They have no own factories for badminton rackets, shoes etc. and they OEM everything badminton-wise from different factories in China as far as i know. As you say Sho uses YY-clothing and shoes. It is a bit puzzling why he uses YY shoes though, most of the Jap national team uses yy-clothing and mizuno shoes, so I assume he signed something himself not partof the national-team sponsor-package?!?

To reply this question as Japanese. I started badminton with Yonex racket at the age of junior high school. Almost surround me and I always use Yonex racket. Because shop in Japan almost 80% deal with YY racket. There are few other bland for ex Mizuno, Gosen. And teachers recommended YY coz high quality and safety. I heared then other racket sometimes accidentally broken. Still now I like YY because all of them made in Japan. I proud of Japanese goods. The other side, Mizuno and Assics are best sports shoes maker I think. Especially Mizuno makes special shoes for Japanese. Many Japanese have instep that more high than foreigner have wide foot than foreigner. Mizuno makes shoes for them. I dont know custom made or not. Not like other countries Japanese players are not professional. And they sholud not obey sponsers. They are not all sponsered. May be half sponsered. At the time of Yonex Open Japan their clothes all given by Yonex. But they can choose racket and shoes they choice. Racket and shoes are more serious matter than clothes to play better.