Japan falls for the Omicron sensationalism crap. Herd immunity in Japan is currently working so well. Imposing strict measures wont do anything.
Recently, I am quite impressed by the depth of Japan's women's doubles. Shida and Matsuyama have been excellent, capable of beating top tier pairs. Men's single, I think they just keep Kento Momota and let go of the other "Kent's." Akane also have been amazing. However, there is a big problem with accumulated fatigue: Kento Momota, Akane, Yuta/Arisa, Shida/Matsuyama all show serious signs of fatigue. Yuta/Higashino had the greatest double match of all time vs Wang/Huang with unbelievable speed and accuracy. However, their subsequent performances have been sub-par. Was their performance vs Wang/Huang a peak that they can only occasionally reach?
Takahata Yukiko of the Takahata/Sakuramoto pairing has announced her retirement on the Yonex team site. I guess it's not a surprise since Kurako had noticed that her name was removed from the national team roster recently, but this will leave Sakuramoto without a partner right when space on the A Team has finally opened up due to retirements. Sakuramoto will play WD with a player from NTT East this coming All Japan Open. Sakuramoto's situation looks complicated. @kurako, have you heard anymore details on these two?
Seems to me like either Iwanaga/Nakanishi or Matsuda/Hoshi will get the slot as they are playing quite well for their standards these days. Of course, I don't fully know how it's all going to work with All Japan Championships and players who participated in WC.
No, there is next to nothing in the news. It seems that Takahata retired at the end of November, at the very young age of 23, without an explanation. This is devastating for Sakuramoto, the Yonex team captain, who will now lose her slot on Team A. As as been pointed out by @trizzforce, the place will either go to Iwanaga/Nakanishi or Matsuda/Hoshi, probably the former, because they are now ranked within the top 32 and, therefore, have ready access to the highest grade of tournament. It hardly needs to be mentioned that the Japanese coaching staff must have been aware of Takahata's impending retirement; the last two months will have been a battleground for the two pairs above to fill the vacated place. Having said that, as far as I am concerned, there is still a question mark as to whether Fukushima/Hirota will remain on the National Team. I am not sure whether Hirota will fully recover in time for the 2022 World Championships. Moreover, will this pair be viewed as viable contenders at Paris? Just to aggravate matters, they (read that as their corporate team management) have a really foul relationship with the NBA. It is all drama. Incidentally, I have bought a ticket for the Finals of the All Japan Championships. There will be no Momota, and no National Team A (except for Okuhara, Fukushima, and Sakuramoto), but it may prove a good opportunity to see some of the up-and-coming talent.
Is momota still injured? Its beginning to feel like he’s not ready to come back both physically and emotionally. I hope he’s not considering leaving for good.
Japan's formidable WD department that was just rock solid (not to mention the long line to enter) just before the Olympics has descended into chaos in double quick time. It's not looking good going into next year's World Championship that will be held on home ground. I surely hope that a repeat of the Tokyo Olympics will not happen. At the moment, Japan has no active pair that can take on the top Korean and Chinese pairs, and yes, this includes Nagamatsu. Who would have thought that this would be the case just a year ago! It took Sakuramoto and Takahata a few tries to get in to Team A only for tournaments to be suspended and then Takahata's retirement. One must feel for Sakuramoto. She's practically starting from scratch again. I have always thought that this pair has the potential to go further, so it is a real shame. Looking forward to see which pair will be chosen: the Ranking Circuit champion or the higher ranked pair. I think I am more optimistic than you are regarding Fukuhiro. Looking at the current situation, I think the NBA can't afford to give up on them. Even if they don't remain on Team A, with their ranking, they will still be required to participate in the Super 1000/750/500 tournaments so they will have at least the next year to get back to form, given that Hirota's recovery goes well. This year's AJC won't be as exciting as normal, but I am also looking forward to see what kind of talents Japan has in reserve. May we all get treated to a final day worthy of your effort to make the trip !
He still has unfinished business! Now only if he can manage his physical condition better and put us all at ease !
Really hope I can get to watch all Japan championship on YouTube. Best if can watch live. Otherwise, at least recorded. Will be interesting to see Okuhara's condition. She is also one of my favorite player. For MS, I hope there's great interest among the MS players to improve on speed, stamina, wrist power, accuracy and of course, mental strength. Players like VA, LKY, LZJ ... have tuned up their abilities to make the shuttle move at a faster speed and with sharper angles in order to overcome opponent's defences.
Hello Kurako, I was searching the information of coach Choi Sangbeom, but google doesn't help me, can you help me ?
There is next to nothing on him, even when checking the alternative English spelling of his name, Choi Sang Bum, or his name in Chinese characters, 崔 相範. He seems to have been active on the international circuit in the late 80's~90 (South Korea). Choi's name first appears as an assistant coach for Japan's national team in 2014. He was appointed as a regular coach for Team B in 2016, and from 2017 he started coaching Team A. FB page: https://www.facebook.com/sangbeom.chol Maybe, some of our Korean friends on this forum can help out. Why are you checking up on him, incidentally?
I have a group which give the information for people in my country (like badmintalk in Indo but mine was smaller (5k+ people)). I find information for "interval time" between january and march. I can find a lot of information of Park JB, Kei Nakashima, but not Choi Sang Bum. This guy (the coach) led two little girls become world champions, it's interesting to know something.
The All Japan Championship (AJC) got off to a start yesterday, with the two qualifying rounds being conducted. The following singles players have made it through to the main tournament, which starts today: MS: Obayashi (Waseda U), Uchino (Kanazawa Gakuin U), Takei (Futaba Mirai HS), Kawamoto (Unisys), Fujiwara (JTEKT), Takeuchi (Marusugi), Kikuchi (Tohoku Marks), Kato (JR Hokkaido), and Fujii (UBE Industries). Here, I am rooting for Takei Riki, who I believe is the most promising talent since Naraoka Kodai. Currently, he plays both singles and doubles. WS: Sarukawa (Yatsushiro Shirayuri HS), Yasaki (San-in Godo Bank), Mizoguchi (U. of Tsukuba), Nakashizu (NTT-East), Kanehiro (Saishunkan), Furukawa (Marusugi), Yoshikawa (Kurashiki Chuo HS), and Konishi (Marusugi). Urushizaki Mako, former Team B player, was an early casualty. It is interesting to note that (former) Marusugi Bluvic team members are now playing under the name of Marusugi. This could be a strategy to counter the NBA decision that prohibited one corporation from fielding two separate teams in the S/J League. Incidentally, the livescore of the AJC is available at https://www.birdscore.live/web/75alljapan/. I searched for a livestream link, but so far, only a fee-paying option has come up, Fuji TV On-demand.
Round 1 (main draw) of the AJC Women's Doubles has finished this morning, the only upset being orchestrated by Osawa/Ishikawa (Aomori Yamada HS) over Kawashima/Saito of ACT SAIKYO. Fukushima Yuki, incidentally, managed to progress to R2 with her Marusugi team-mate, Sugimura. However, the scoreline shows it to have been a tough three-game match against a university pair.
Round 1 of the AJC Women's Singles is now complete. There was one upset: Mizoguchi Natsume of the University of Tsukuba defeated Hayashi Moto of ACT SAIKYO in a 3 game battle. The rest went according to the book, including Okuhara's match against high school hopeful, Sarukawa Yuka.
With regard to R1 of the MS, the first notable defeat was suffered by Sakai Kazumasa (formerly Team A), who fell to Takahashi Koo of Tonami. Tomorrow's highlight match will pit two National Team B Tonami team-mates against each other: Shimono Hashiru vs newcomer Hatano Riku. I only wish I could watch it live.
Takei Riki is the only high schooler to make it through to the 2nd round where he will meet Takahashi Ko, who downed Sakai in the first round. Personally, I am excited about this match-up. I was quite impressed with Takahashi Ko's play style when he beat Tanaka Yushi during the Ranking Circuit. Midorikawa Hiroki should give up on MS and focus on double only. Hard to believe that he used to be considered Naraoka's rival back in high school, looking at his recent results. Being on the shorter side probably does not help either.
Takei was recovering from an injury during the Inter-High earlier this year, and therefore decided to enter only for the doubles, which he duly won. However, as he was not placed 1st or 2nd in the singles category, he wasn't actually eligible to participate in this year's AJC in his own right. What happened was that the NBA used the one discretionary slot it possesses to enter Takei, which is significant in showing their evaluation of his potential. I agree, Takahashi vs Takei should be interesting. Takei, having played two extra matches in the qualifying round and coming from a gruelling match in R1 may well be at a physical disadvantage though.
AJC R2 highlights on December 27 (interim report): MS: Takeuchi Hiroki, sole male player for Marusugi (Bluvic) defeats former Team A player, Igarashi Yu (Unisys). MS: Naraoka Kodai steams past Unisys newbie, Kawamoto Takuma in surprisingly breezy style, 21-8, 21-7. WS: Top 4 seed Shimoda Natsumi (Hiroshima Gas) falls to Ikeuchi Moe (77 Bank). WS: 30-year-old Suzuki Haruko (Marusugi (Bluvic) wins over Takahashi Miyu (Unisys) MD: No. 3 seeds, Kaneko/Kubota (Tonami) fall to Takeuchi (Marusugi <Bluvic>)/Ogawa (Mie Amateur Sports Organisation)!!, which may signify a drop from Team B. WD: Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi <Bluvic>) prevail to enter the QF. XD: Top seeds Nishikawa/Ozaki (NTT-East) withdraw. Marusugi (Bluvic) is performing really well so far; Imai-magic, no doubt.
