I just wonder who will be selected for MS3 and WS3 for the upcoming TUC. MS1/WS1, MS2/WS2, MD1/WD1, MD2/WD2 are already fixed and I don't see PJB use any scratch pairs. For MS3, it's between Koki and Nishimoto, but look like Koki got a better chance. For WS3, it's quite open. Ohori may have international experience, but she's not in Team A. Asuka is the newcomer, it's risky to select her. They still can have Sayaka there, or will they give a shot to 2019 WJC Riko Gunji?
Of course it is possible, but as they are affiliated to different corporate teams, they have very limited practice time together. Shida/Matsuyama are simply going to be better. Sure, but this wasn't a strategic masterplan; it is because Kamura, for some reason or other, was not playing well.
I remember that match so vividly, everybody was so surprised with Watanabe instead of the usual Kamura partnership with Sonoda. And they almost pulled it off and rewritten the order of gold and silver, since the last MS match was scheduled with Lin Dan vs. Tsuneyama. We were also hoping to see how much Lin Dan was able to summon from his aged mind and body in such intense circumstances. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, we were only consoled by the hilarious Li Yun Hui incident with his shirt half stuck in his sweaty long torso and limps.
Just as I forsaw... Viktor Axelson is the player to look out for and if Momota wants to remain at the top, VA is the player to practice with. Yes, VA lost to Momota many times and at that time, it seem strange when I predicted that VA is the real threat, even more than Ginting ... But I was not looking at just the results, I was looking at VA style of play and his strong fighting spirit. The style VA was using was working pretty well against many other top players but it wasn't working against Momota. Yet, with some adjustments, I could see how it can become very effective. VA must try to avoid the match going into the 3rd game while playing the first 2 games with highest quality possible with all his steep and powerful smashes. For tall players, this might be the answer. Instead of avoiding having to use smashes for the sake of saving energy, practice and improve on the quality of smashes. With every winning smashes being executed, instead of loosing energy, the joy of getting points actually increases energy. Of course, during the process of mastering the style, you are taking a hugh gamble because if the match goes into the 3rd game, you might not have enough stamina. Hope Momota can gather up courage again quickly and study VA style of play carefully. Momota is an intelligent player and I am sure he will know what he needs to work on in order to counter a player like VA. Lee ZI Jia's style is close to VA style and that is why when LZJ and VA play against each other the points are usually very close. But I think VA have more experience with this style of play than LZJ. VA was impressive and won every match during Olympic in 2 sets including the finals with Chen Long. (At one time, when Momota was attacking a bit more while maintaining his good defence, Momota was also winning most of his matches in 2 games.) Meanwhile I am hoping for players like Koki watanabe, Shimono and T. Asuka to blossom. They have the skills, the quality and a strong foundation but it would depend on how much they want it for themselves and perhaps for country. Unfortunately, my favorite Okuhara and Akane lost their nerves at some point. Their games were not easy but to me it could have gone either way if they had kept their nerves. This might have someting to do with preparation before the Olympic.
As is the case everywhere, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc with Bird Japan's international tournament schedule. The following is Japan's revised timetable for October 2021. Note that National Team B+ and B will be heading to Europe for the Belgium International and Hylo Open.
The NBA today published details of its National Team A practice session <September 13-21> in the lead-up to the Sudirman Cup (https://www.badminton.or.jp/playersInfo/docs/r3_10_trainingcamp_nationalteam_20210908.pdf). Players marked with asterisks are scheduled to compete in the Sudirman Cup, ... and there are some interesting omissions. The line-up is as follows: MS: Momota, Nishimoto WS: Okuhara, Yamaguchi, Takahashi S. MD: Hoki/Kobayashi, Koga/Saito WD: Nagahara/Matsumoto, Shida/Matsuyama XD: Watanabe/Higashino, Kaneko/Matsutomo Is this the end of Endo/Watanabe and Sonoda/Kamura?
Sad to see Yuta not competing in MD, hope he makes a comeback with another strong backcourt player. He has so much potential to be top 3 in the world ..
Update on Kamura, Sonoda, and Endo: Endo, and Sonoda/Kamura have withdrawn from the National Team, as of September 8, but will remain active as players, with Endo also doubling up as a coach for Unisys.
The M & Q Report (Ver. 1) for the Denmark Open (October 19-24) has been published and, judging from the list of entries, the NBA has shifted its internal eligibility requirements for entry to top tier tournaments. Whilst, previously, participation in World Tour Super 750 or 1000 tournaments was the preserve of National Team A, this is no longer the case! Here is the list of entrants: 1. MS Momota Kento (National A, NTT-East) Tsuneyama Kanta (National A, Tonami) Nishimoto Kenta (National A, Gifu Badminton Association) Watanabe Koki (National A, Unisys) <currently reserve no. 3> Naraoka Kodai (National B, IMG) <currently reserve no. 10> 2. WS Okuhara Nozomi (National A, Taiyo Holdings) Yamaguchi Akane (National A, Saishunkan) Takahashi Sayaka (National A, Unisys) Ohori Aya (National B, Tonami) Kawakami Saena (National B, Hokuto Bank) <currently reserve no. 2> Takahashi Asuka (National A, Yonex) <currently reserve no. 18> 3. MD Hoki/Kobayashi (National A, Tonami) Koga/Saito (National A, NTT-East) Matsui/Takeuchi (National B, Hitachi Engineering) Onodera/Okamura (National B, Unisys) <currently reserve no. 5> 4. WD Nagahara/Matsumoto (National A, Hokuto Bank) Shida/Matsuyama (National A, Saishunkan) Sakuramoto/Takahata (National A, Yonex) Fukushima/Higashino (National A, Marusugi Bluvic/Unisys) !!! 5. XD Watanabe/Higashino (National A, Unisys) Kaneko/Matsutomo (National A, Unisys) Hoki/Matsuyama (National A, Tonami/Saishunkan) <currently reserve no. 32> ???
We all know Higashino can't defend the Mens' smashes in XD. Can she defend (at the very least), the likes of Rahayu, Jia Yi Fan and be successful?
How do you rate Japan's chances in the Sudirman Cup? I saw that in the group stage,they will be competing against England,Malaysia and Egypt.
Low, men's single is not so strong like 2019. Same to WD. I don't trust Nagahara/Matsumoto, especially when facing to Korea or China. And MD this time, the weakest of the team
Sometimes I feel like Japan tries to set themselves up to lose. Right before Sudirman Cup they decided to let 3 guys go ahead with retirement, which made an entire category so weak to the point they might be non-factors. Then of course, like you said, Nagahara and Matsumoto will proceed to lose to those opponents. We still have doubts over MS. XD might be reliable for group stages but after that they might struggle too. So yeah I will just enjoy Sudirman Cup as a tournament. Not much hope here.
Should be a temporary solution to keep Fukushima active. No reason to break the original pair when Hirota returns to full strength.