Okuhara was saying that "insufficient rest from the previous competitions has left her exhausted." after loss. http://www.badzine.net/2019/01/indonesia-masters-r32-top-seed-okuhara-stopped-in-the-first-round/ Momota's game looks very tired as well. What is the plan for Japanese players really? When are they resting if not during new year time? I don't see them being in good form for All England Championships.
Hmmm... After his loss yesterday, Shi Yuqi apparently echoed the same sentiments, i.e, he was exhausted after last year. Most of February is not that busy as far as the international circuit is concerned. However, with the exception of Okuhara, who is no longer affiliated to a corporate team, Team A members will be fully occupied with the S/J League. There is actually not much time for R&R before the All England.
German open will have many strong players, in this case, if someone play good in German Open, he/she will fatigue in All England and can get a bad result. Take Chou Tien Chen as an example. I am not afraid that Nishimoto face a strong player but just take a title to get the confidence. In my opinion, playing Spain Open, then relax and skip German Open, then play All England is the best way for Nishimoto. Let German Open for Momota ^-^ P/s: just correct some words ^-^. I typed with one eye because I was so sleepy at that time yesterday ^-^
The National A Team training session for the German Open/All England will be held between February 17-23, ... so there is no way that Nishimoto would have entered himself for the Spain Open. Incidentally, both Momota and Nishimoto will be playing for their corporate teams in the S/J League until February 17th. If both NTT-East and Tonami reach the final of the TOP 4 Tournament, and it is possible that they may, then Momota and Nishimoto will be set to meet each other again. I can't see Momota losing a second time.
I don't expect that, a hard fight can be a way for other teams to look at and analyze it. Nishimoto played aggressively against to Momota at Malaysia Master and then, Viktor and Antonsen also played fastly against to Momota in Indonesia. ^-^ Of course, I hope Nishimoto wins, but I didn't have a chance to watch Nishimoto's matches in Indonesia master, so I didn't know his performance. In contrast, Momota lost to Antonsen in Indo but Momota's performance was still good ^-^. So it's quite hard to me to say "anything". Just support Nishimoto because I'm a fan of Nishimoto. btw, 4 training days is so short. Wish I was there, then I can say some weaknesses of Nishimoto and show him the way to improve it. And Higashino as well. By watching her game, I think that Higashino has problem when changing from forehard side to backhand side and vice versa in the defense. She just choose one side on the defensive, and she depends on a luck when defending.
Oh dear. When just now glancing through the updated world rankings, I noted that Sakai Kazumasa (Team A) has managed to drop below Igarashi Yu (Team B). It is not looking good. I somehow get the feeling that the German Open and All England may well be his last chance to remain on the team.
Just found the list of the players who will participate in Tong Yun Kai Cup. Here is the list of JPN players. http://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=6E16BA47-5B06-43A3-B610-CF6D436A233D&c=JPN It looks like JPN will not send the full team. The notable members are MatsuNaga, TanaMoto, and Yuta/Arisa. The line up still looks strong compare to the CHN team who also sends the second stringer team. Any thoughts?
Even with this line-up, JPN is still too strong for the rest. - MS: It could be 1-0 for CHN, as they have Lu Guangzu and Zhao Junpeng. Kanta and Sakai are not as good as them. - WS: I doubt Cai Yanyan or Yue Han could trouble Sayaka Takahashi. I would be 1-1 for JPN - MD: It's a 50-50. CHN has Han/Zhou and He/Tan, while JPN could release Kaneko/Inoue - WD: Surely JPN will take it with MatsuNaga. I can't see Du/Li winning it, mostly cause I have no more trust on Li Yinhui. - XD: WataHiga will seal the tie for JPN if it goes to this XD match. CHN best is He/Du but it seems they cannot withstand WataHiga. Theoretically, it will be a 3-2 win for JPN if CHN takes the MD match, otherwise it could be 3-1. The key matches will be WS and MD. However, this is a team event, anything could happen when players in high spirit or under pressure. I look forward to a tight score between JPN and CHN if they could manage to face each other in the Final
The NBA has "refreshed" the Japanese national team players list. There are some less than natural smiles here: (Team A) https://www.badminton.or.jp/national/member/2019.html#groupA (Team B) https://www.badminton.or.jp/national/member/2019.html#groupB
Yep, there may have been a couple of updates regarding the personal information of the players (e.g., Momota's weight seems to have increased from 68 kg to 72 kg), but the membership itself has not changed ... yet. Badpal, on its Twitter page is suggesting that a review is in place. In consideration of the dependency/physical burden on top players in this event, with the exception of XD, the policy now is not to send the top two rankers in any category.
