Excellent timing!! The Daihatsu National Elementary School ABC Tournament is currently being streamed at http://www.smash-net.tv/. How does your daughter match up?
What's the age of the school kids in this tournament? 11 years old and under? I think the oldest girls are older than mine by a year. They are better than her. However, for the top ranked HK girls players who are 11 years old (i.e. born in 2008), they look to be more consistent than the girls in this tournament. My daughter is playing in the Hong Kong junior championships right now. I think she has a definite chance of final 8 for her age group - will tell you on Thursday.....after the match...
As far as Japanese elementary school tournaments are concerned, it will be ages 6-12, with the oldest children being in the 11-12 bracket. I wish your daughter the very best! It is a relief to hear that the political turmoil in HK hasn't had an adverse impact on the tournament. Let us know how it goes.
A couple of veterans dug in their heels at the Akita Masters yesterday. Sakai Kazumasa disposed of Naraoka Kodai (... who tends to be troubled by compatriots), and Sato Sayaka beat Urushizaki Mako (National B). Watanabe Koki, Igarashi Yu, and Shimono Hashiru made it though to R3, as did Takahashi Asuka, Mizui Hirari, Oie Natsuki, and newly-fledged National B player, Saito Shiori. Today, I am looking forward to: Thammasin Sitthikom vs Shimono Hashiru Sakai Kazumasa vs Igarashi Yu An Se Young vs Oie Natsuki
Hi, @kurako -san. Is there any news about JPN team A's intense training? I only know about their press conference last week.
Wow! It seems like they are undergo the secret training. I have a feeling that they will go to WC with a BANG! Expect some really difference performance from them.
Ooops, as has been highlighted on Badpal, none of the six WS players on National Team B managed to get past R3 at the Akita Masters. In contrast, four of the men, Igarashi, Watanabe Koki, Shimono, and Obayashi have made it to the QF. Shimono, in particular, did well to defeat the No. 1 seed, Sitthikom Thammasin (WR 24) today.
Off topic. Into the quarter finals which will be played on Saturday. Coming Opponent is good. Will just tell her to enjoy and make it difficult for the opponent.
I think Shimono has very impressive skills, strong wrist, strong fore arm and stroung upper arm, strong shoulder to control and move the shuttle fast. he also has good footwork. If he work on improving his stamina, he can go very far. This is my observation. So, it is a matter of how far he wants to take it and how much he is willing to put in. Surprised to see Japan reached finals in all categories. MS, WS, MD, WD, XD So, it's either silver or gold.
Yes, Japan did manage to reach the finals in all five categories; but with the exception of Koga/Saito, this wasn't really the line-up that I was expecting. Incidentally, in Japan, it is gold, or nothing, so let's hope that someone wins. You are right, Shimono did well. I really wanted to see him beat Igarashi today, but his previous matches may well have taken too much of a toll. He will be taking part in the Vietnam Open, so let's see how he fares there. But, it is not only a matter of "how far he wants to take it". It is also a matter of how much the NBA directorate and coaching staff are willing to invest in, and encourage National Team B players. At the moment, with Tokyo 2020, Team B doesn't appear to comprise much more than an afterthought.
Japan team has one rep each in all of 5 categories. But, 3 of them are lost. There is even a possibility that Japan will end up losing in all of 5 categories. I don't know how the future of the Japan team B looks like after this.
B-teams losing to recently retired or soon-to-be A-team players isn't an unexpected result...especially if those A-team players were top-5 class.
Hmm, I am not really mean the unexpected result. I hardly ever surprised by today's outcomes. I am more concerned about JPN team B's overall performance. Looks like the gap between them and the A team is still far. When will they be able to close the gap? Ah, pardon me, I am not an expert about JPN team B. Maybe @kurako can help us assessing their overall performance. Will the future looks bright for them?