Generally speaking, Okuhara has more adherents that detractors, but her outspokenness makes her a more divisive figure than many other players. In a country that still values the "team" more than the "individual", Okuhara's decision to leave Unisys in order to improve her chances of winning a gold medal was certainly bold. She has a strong fan-base, and these fans will stick with her, whatever the case. However, less ardent supporters have been somewhat more muted in their reaction, and some may well see this as a betrayal of the team for personal glory. It would be difficult to declare that this move has been good for Okuhara's image.
Yes that’s pretty much how I believed it would be perceived in Japan. Personally I can only admire this decision of hers. It shows strong character and strong desire to succeed at the Olympics, which is a personal event but also a country event. At least that’s how I interpret it as she knew the general public in Japan would not see this move from a keen eye and she still pushed through no matter what. Hope she reflects this strong will to succeed on court too!
I think it's a good decision, especially if it was made and thought by herself. It showed how much important to win this Olympics for her as an individual. No matter who she is working for, the glory will go to Japan anyway and she will give the credit to the team who had brought her up. Olympics can only happen once or twice (or maybe more) in your life, while anything else (jobs, reputation, etc) can wait. I don't understand why she should be considered 'betraying' her company unless she moves to work in another company for better benefits, by the way.
People will forget and forgive if Okuhara take part at the final match in Olympic and win the gold medal. This is also "for the team". But Single Women is so competitive nowadays. If Okuhara lose, that can be terrible. People will blame and jeer.
So i just finished watching Nozomi’s match against Ratchanok. She lost 15-21 and 12-22. A lot more errors than her usual game and couldn’t get the right lenght of shots. But you can see a difference in her game, she’s trying something new. I hope she will rest well, and get ready for the All England. Good game by Ratchanok!
Quite a slap in the face today against Chen Yufei at the Australian Open loosing the second and final set 21-3. I think we can start to be worried about Nozomi's chances of getting a medal at Tokyo 2020. She hasn't performed well against big names this year loosing to Chen Yufei, HBJ, TTY, AY, Ratchanok and Saina Nehwal. One of those names will get in her way early during the Olympic tournament. And if we add youngster such as An Se Young in the mix that's a lot of potential threats to deal with... And the pressure of playing at home.
Nothing to worry. Chen Yufie has improved herself. Now Chen can beat anyone in top 10, even Tai Tzu Ying and Akane. Nozomi didn't leap to chase the shuttlecock, I think that she's aware of "recurrence of an injury". Just Akane can defence Chen's jump-smashing (hit to the line) but not Nozomi, this is the key to win or lose the match. Nozomi will do all the thing in Tokyo 2020 and we will see how far she goes.
I'd like to be as optimistic as you but she didn't just loose to Chen Yufei in the past few months. She lost to many more players whom I mentioned in my previous post. But anything can happen during a tournament, especially the Olympics, but her performances are still a bit worrying considering her goals.
Marin even lost more than Nozomi, and look at her: 1 Olympic gold medal and 3 times world champion. The greatest will know how to be bright in time
A loss on this scale must have been particularly damaging as Okuhara mentioned in her post SF interview that she thought that she was regaining her form. All credit to Chen Yufei; she has really evolved into a force to be reckoned with.
Hmm, didn't HBJ only won against NO once? Also, NO just beat RI yesterday. Shouldn't think too much on her loss. I prefer her to be in peak form when it matters the most (WC and OG, for example). She doesn't need to be dominating all the time. As for pressure for being a home player, I don't think this is a problem. Her mentality is tough.
I hope Marin makes a full recovery; that should add even more excitement. WS is a little too tame without her.
I was not referring to her whole career but her performances in 2019. Just my take for sure but when I see her ambitions, going independent and her current results (especially today) I am questioning her chances of getting a medal. That being said anything is possible whether she is not actually giving 100% yet and will increase her effort gradually until the Olympics or simply the fact she could transcend herself during the event. We'll see, yet I'm a bit disappointed at her performances this year knowing her goals, I would have like to see her win one tournament for example.
Well, to be frank, I only expect her to won one or two title (high tier one) this year. I think she is quite consistent in general, just not enough to continuously beat the other top players.
