^-^ Higashino is a type of crazy woman. Sometimes she's cute like a deer, sometimes she's crazy like cat This characteristic make her play aggressively on the court
We can call it unfortunate or perhaps silver lining in the cloud, but what happened allowed Watanabe to play his full potential against the minions in the BAC finals. Man, he and Endo were unbreakable in their defence against everything the minions threw at them. And Watanabe is beginning to make full use of set play for his left handedness, just like Boe did with Mogensen. Very impressive! Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
When I saw her getting the injury, it looked very very painful, can't even rewatch that again. Traumatizing
If you have to give Yuta a XD partner for this Surdiman Cup (in case Arisa-chan is not ready) who would you choose??? By Yuta's play style my choice would be : 1. W. Nagahara (all rounder, powerful from the back , aggressive at the net, fearless on serves, maybe the closest to Arisa style) 2. M. Matsumoto (dedicated front player, XD+WD experienced, razor sharp at the front with surprising shots from the back, her ability to quake defenses, force lifts and use Yuta own magic to target opponents weak spots makes that choice certainly the MOST CREATIVE & TECHNICAL duo Japan can produce, her services being the only issue.. and they will need to COORDINATE their big brains. 3. S. Hirota (a safe all rounder choice but considering the hard battles in WD her stamina could become an issue, adjusting to Men doubles smashes is also a concern, switching her with Yuki Fukushima occasionally could even be possible.. Sayaka have a better reach and is more consistent, Yuki being more technical and resourceful on her defenses)
Higashino seems to have been another victim of the national training camp. According to Badpal, she sustained a repeat ankle injury. (Unlike Momota, she managed to walk to the departing coach without any strapping, though, ... which makes me wonder about Momota's condition.)
Momota had to hop! Is there any benefit of moving from Japan to Indonesia knowing that you are in no condition to play? Is there something you can earn in terms of points? Or qualification for TO2020? If Momota was worse then mostly probably he will also forfeit? But Higashino seemed to be missing shuttles where she did not even have to move. Maybe just her mental was not in a good place given that she knew she wasn't physically ok?
Just now watched their post-match interview, in which Watanabe, as always, took the lead and appeared protective: As Higashino's injury had not fully healed, both players were fully aware that the probability of a premature exit was high. Nevertheless, they decided to appear on court because: 1. They wanted to get the "feel" of playing in a tournament. 2. They did not want to be penalised for not appearing. 3. They wanted to earn the stipulated points (albeit a mere 3,000) The pair made it clear that they are giving priority to the Japan Open, due to be held next week,
I miss the days when they were on the rise to the top ranks as Underdogs with nothing to lose. I still remember their AE win, which was a Cinderella story and kind of epic.
Back then they were playing free without pressure, not the case anymore. They have huge expectations. Not sure the double duty makes much sense for Yuta W. by the way, as he does not have the physical built (yet) for it at all. I still remember to this day their incredible performance at the uber cup in 2017 against Ziwei/ CQC. One of the best match they have ever played. The crazy thing about XD right now is that even being as inconsistent as they are, Watahiga are still somehow the closest to the top 2 chinese XD (and ranked n°3). China XD seems honestly miles ahead of their opponents in pretty much every area today (following the retirement of Natsir), the game really needs current or new pairs to step up to revitalize this category. Right now there is barely any competition for Ziwei/ WHQ when they are in form, I can't even remember the last time they lost a set, let alone a game lol.
the closest competitor to ZSW/HYQ is their fellow countrymen WYL/HDP. not easy for Jpn XD as i read they don't often train together if from different company (if i recall correctly). tough job for Jeremy Gan, the xd coach.
Both Yuta and Arisa are from the same company. However, I think that the training schedule between men and women are different.
Well, he is in a strange situation. His current success is from MD but his partner is just a placement waiting for a young player to rise up and partner with Yuta. On the other hand, Arisa IS Yuta's one and only XD partner, but they haven't been doing well lately.
Yeah they've been a bit off since the All England 2019 second place finish. Lost first round twice in a row to Tan and Lai then a series of retirements in BAC, one showing in Sudirman Cup then retirement again in Indonesia Open. The way they played against Christiansen and Boje doesn't give me much confidence lol
Really? I thought they played well at their biggest strength, which is speed. And the way they easily disposed the koreans yesterday is also a good sign. Lets see their play tomorrow against a real top pairs.
They played really well against the sort of equally matched koreans but today they had it tougher cos of mistakes by Arisa and also the tall Danish girl is quite towering at the net. I think generally they didn't know what to expect against a new pair and made uncharacteristic mistakes.
they are the only realistic hope for XD in Tokyo'20. so i think most important is to keep Arisa injury free, while they notch enough points to qualify.