The last message that Cheung posted was on the day that the Momota thread disappeared. I do not know whether this is a pure coincidence, or whether it was deliberate, but I, too, hope that he is OK.
I am not so sure that generalisations can be applied here. At the moment, the ever precarious balance of power that exists in Japan between the NBA and the corporate teams, the latter of whom are the direct employers of most national team players, has started to give way, ... and the momentum lies with the corporate teams. I mentioned in my previous post that over half of National Team A players indicated that they would not participate in the National Team Training Camp, which has resulted in the repeated postponement of the camp. (Indeed, the National Team has not played together at all since the All England.) What I didn't mention is that the unwillingness to participate may well have been influenced by the players' employers. According to one newspaper report, some corporations are still refusing to allow their players to travel outside the team's prefecture... a fairly restrictive directive. Furthermore, Covid-19 is affecting some of the smaller companies that maintain corporate teams financially. American Vape, of Fukushima-Hirota ilk, has already hit the dust, and shareholders, generally, may well be questioning the feasibility of maintaining "symbol teams" during these trying times. In short, as most Japanese national team players are not true 'professionals' (many are actually salaried workers), there are constraints with regard to what they can plan and do. I imagine this to be a huge challenge for Zeniya Kinji (NBA) and Head Coach Park Joo Bong. As for Momota, ... sure, he is tough and he survived the suspension. But he was far from match-fit after that one year stint. Incidentally, in an online interview given just last week, 'match-fitness' is what he mentioned to be his primary concern.
Everybody's favourite badminton club organized a little two team tournament against Act Saikyo. It took place on the holy grounds of Saishunkan itself and was played over two days. There are two videos of this, featuring absolute legends like A. Yamaguchi, C. Shida, Nami Matsuyama, Yukino Nakai, and Nao Ono. On day two, spectators also had the privilege to marvel at the up-and-coming doubles combination of Akane Y. and Chiharu S.
Alas, even worse. At least Okuhara has a sponsor. Actually, Nishimoto is neither affiliated to a corporate team, nor gone ’pro’; he is a 'ronin’. Ostensibly, he is affiliated to the Gifu Prefecture Badminton Association, but this there is no salary involved. His fans might take solace from the fact that he is being allowed to practice with the ladies of Marusugi Bluvic under the mesmerising guidance of Imai Akihiro. ... .... Nishimoto seriously mis-timed his defection from Tonami. He is looking for a sponsor, but with the ramifications of coronavirus, potential benefactors are tightening their purse strings. Point-wise, he is trailing Tsuneyama, and there is no guarantee that he will make it to the Olympics, which renders his prospects even dimmer. It will be interesting to see how Nishimoto fares at the All Japan Championships (AJC) this year, ... but I suppose that applies to everybody. Next year's national team could realistically have a totally different complexion. Incidentally, JSports recently aired a Tonami-only competition (Tonami split itself up into two teams, headed by Kamura and Sonoda, respectively). Somewhat surprisingly, Obayashi (MS, National B Team, invited to join the event, although he is still a Waseda U student) was resoundingly thrashed by Tonami newbie, Hatano Riku, who stands at 1m77, and just turned 19 this summer. I am betting on some major upsets at the AJC.
Thanks a lot for your precise information and detailed post. I think that you was right, Nishimoto maybe chose the wrong time to "take his move". He's supposed to go out of Tonami club sooner. Of course, Tonami was one of the best clubs in Japan along with good coaches and Nishimoto grew up there, but I didn't see any improvement from him after Hong Open 2018. (he touched his best from and reached highest rank in his career in this time) He can beat any top players even Momota, but he can't do it in five consecutive matches. How a pity. I need to watch something new from him, changing practice environment maybe help.
Takahashi Ayaka of 'Takamatsu' fame has decided to retire. Her Olympic race and, through connection, that of Matsutomo, is now finally over.
Matsutomo plans to continue to play, though, and it will be interesting to see who, in Unisys, she will be matched up with. If we are looking at a 'veteran-newbie' tie-up, as was the case with Endo/Watanabe, the candidates are Osawa Kaho and Otake Miyuki (National B Team). The latter, a high school WD champion, has a lot of potential, but she will be waiting to pair up with her HS partner, Takahashi Miyu, who will be graduating in March 2021.
The problem with Misaki is that her capabilities and style are like that of the female in an XD pair. She may be good at setting up the lift but she is practically ineffective when pushed to the rear court, unlike most usual WD pairs. Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
You could be spot on here. According to one article, Matsutomo is going to focus on XD with her current partner, Kaneko Yuki, and aim for Paris 2024. TakaMatsu's press conference is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
I am happy that she's going to continue but I won't lie to myself about her chances in XD. Yuki Kaneko isn't a great partner in my opinion.
The first national training camp (National A Team) since the All England is set to take place from September 1-10. Sakuramoto/Takabata have been added to the list of participants, ... probably as sparring partners. National Team B's training camp will be held from September 10-20; this will include some of the more prominent high school players. ... Everyone is in serious need of practice.
