Nozomi Okuhara won the 2014 New Zealand Open with ease . Thank you for the link, DStyle. Oh dear; Hsiao Ma Pai [1] has been training here in Melbourne, Australia, for weeks, preparing for this 2014 NZ Open tournament. I am so surprised to find her being defeated by Nozomi at the Quarter Finals so easily. I have been seeing Hsiao Ma Pai (for weeks in Melbourne), and I thought she could make it into the Finals without problems. .
Not sure about Hsiao but Nozomi is part of Japan's National Team. So, If Hsiao is not from the national team, then is difficult to beat someone who is good.
Chiang Mei Hui was training here in Melbourne, Australia, for weeks. . I made a mistake saying that Hsiao Ma Pai was training here in Melbourne, Australia, for weeks; preparing for this 2014 NZ Open tournament. It wasn't Hsiao Ma Pai, but Chiang Mei Hui. .
Late congrats to Nozomi for winning in Viet Nam Open for her second Grand Prix championships in 2014. Recordings of the Finals (incomplete) and SF are available on youtube, and I have compiled a playlist for her performances in 2014: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzwhcNXnNqOSdE5WdBH45hEmDHb_AnKdD
Nozomi Okuhara is progressing well . Glad to find that Nozomi Okuhara is progressing well. Today, Saturday 24-Jan-2015, she is ranked 20th in the world. Link: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/history.aspx?id=2D28B50A-695D-4CC0-9DAD-633D35E87B4D .
That chart is phenomenal. Look at the jump in ranking from last March. She's a top ten player by the time June comes. Her aim must be to get enough points for a seeding in the world championship.
What I heard was that she was trying to do something for the Olympic qualification period... Wow, she's going that far for this year as well? Great!
Nozomi wins again in the China International. Nice tournament for her. It's going to be interesting on the European part of the circuit. I am sure all eyes are on her for the All England.
I watched the petite Nozomi upset the giant Sung Ji Hyun last night at the Singapore Open and was very impressed with her workrate and fighting spirit. Good luck to her in the quarter-finals today
A very talented player with amazing foot speed. I think she will eventually become world no. 1, depending on how Yamaguchi fares.
world no.1 ? Not in the near future. I think may be 1 or 2 years later. She has the potential to do that.
Yes. She really caught my eye at HK Open last year beating Sun Yu. She's up to no.10 in the world rankings. Earlier than I thought it would come. She's made two quarter finals in super series this year but you can see by the scores that other players are having a tough time playing against Nozomi.
And somedays ago, again she upset Sung Ji Hyun in the Semifinal Sudirman Cup 2015 in rubber set 11-21 21-17 21-14. It was just incredible how she played, even against the taller and experienced player. She will be on top and catch more title.
I just wonder how she's managed her play with a mini body but has a great movements and great endurance.
She has very fast legs... impressive court coverage. Great shot selection and great fighting spirit. And at only 20 yrs old... she'll go far.