I think it might turn out the other way around, simply because the top doubles now are blocking development for the younger ones. After Tokio 2020, Takamatsu will surely retire. Tanayone are the same age as them and with the injury to Yonemoto, it remains to be seen if they are going to continue at all. Fukuhiro will be 27/26 after Tokio, which isn't ancient, but also not young anymore. That leaves Nagamatsu and the rest. Kurako has already mentioned that there is nothing beyond Sakutaka and Shidamatsu, so there'll be two top pairs and two chronically underdeveloped younger ones. Why chronically underdeveloped? Look at this, for example: in 2016 Matsuyama played the final of the World Junior Championship against Du Yue (both with different partners). Matsuyama, 4 months younger than Du Yue, won narrowly. Their development by their respective NBAs has been totally different since then. In 2017, Du Yue got to play 3 SSP tournaments, 5 SS and 5 GPGs to Matsuyamas 1 SS and 3 GPGs. Since 2018, Du Yue has played 6 1000 events, 7 750s, 6 500s and 5 300s. Matsuyama: Zero 1000s, 2 750s (Japan Open, of course), 2 500s and 8 300s. That is a massive gulf in opportunities which will come home to roost in 2021 at the latest.
Thanks you for @kurako 's explanation. I mean, I'm not too worried about their WD, because they always have a good stock in the right time, like the appearance of NagaMatsu. Currently they have SakuTaka and MatsuShida. In MS, their career is longer than WS. Momota will continue to play, maybe until Paris 2024, and their successors in Team B are also quite promising. In WS, their career are not as along as MS and their successors are not promising. After the Olympic, NO (25 yrs) may not be retired, but it will certainly be a question of being able to compete at the top level, her play style requires physical fitness and strong stamina and the fact that no hope for the next Olympic.
There is one factor at play behind this 'underdevelopment' that is not often considered. After the All Japan Championships last December, when the national teams were announced, one audacious reporter actually asked Park Joo Bong why Sakuramoto/Takahata weren't at least given the opportunity to train with Team A, especially in the light of the fact that they were "top committed players". Park Joo Bong replied that the National Training Centre only had ten courts that could be used simultaneously; i.e., there were simply not the physical resources to have them train together. The conclusion that can be drawn from this comment is, that unless one of the top guns retires/loses a place on the team, the underlings will not have the opportunity to advance, and this includes not only team membership, but also training and development. This applies to all five categories.
Another problem is their coach is only one per sector. In other countries, China or Indonesia for example, their main coach will be assisted by many assistents. That all players can be handled properly. In Japan, one coach handles 4 players. when competing, if the players compete at the same time, they are forced to be accompanied by other sector coaches, which sometimes makes the players themselves less comfortable. I know, sometimes they bring club coaches too.
Speaking of being coached by other sector's coach, I don't think there is much problem about it. Reony, a former JPN coach, often assists an INA players whenever the opponents are from JPN. Herry IP, the INA MD coach, also coaches XD players occasionally.
http://www.smash-net.tv/ is currently livestreaming select matches of the Best 16 onwards of the 62nd All Japan Members Championships. Veterans such as Takeshita Riichi (who actually became a Tonami coach this April), as well as up-and-coming National Team B players like Mizui Hirari and Koga Minoru, etc., are participating in the tournament both for individual points, and for their corporate teams. September 3: Best 16 and QF September 4: SF and Finals
Something is seriously afoot. Naraoka Kodai, currently placed No. 3 in the world junior rankings, winner of this year's All Japan Inter-High; bronze medallist in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, silver medallist in the 2018 World Junior Championships, and bronze medallist in the 2017 World Junior Championships, is NOT to be found on the list of players that the NBA is despatching to this year's Junior Championships, as published today!! He's the best chance Japan has of earning a medal; I really don't understand it. Actually, yesterday, Badminton Spirit carried an interview of Naraoka, in which he mentioned that he was looking forward the World Junior Championships. He commented that the medals that the winners received at the WJC were exactly the same as those presented in the World Championships, and that he was hoping to receive a medal identical to Momota's. When I just now looked at the same article, all references to the World Junior Championships had been deleted. Naraoka is a talented 18-year old high school pupil; he is arguably the best hope for Japan, post-Momota. I suspect that his father and the NBA are at loggerheads, ... but why make a minor suffer for this. Until yesterday, he actually thought he would be competing for a medal; he must be distraught. ... And I am flabbergasted.
I am still smarting from the decision not to enter Naraoka for the BWF World Junior Championships. (The issue is not being picked up by the media at all, surprise, surprise....) But, putting that aside for a minute, let me just provide an update on the status of the All Japan Members Championships. The following players faced/are currently facing each other in the finals, live-streamed today at http://www.smash-net.tv/ (12:15 onwards, Japan time): MS Onodera Yusuke (Nihon Unisys) vs Koga Minoru (NTT-East): Winner = Koga Minoru WS Shimoda Natsumi (Hiroshima Gas) vs Yamamoto Saya (American Vape Gifu): Winner = Shimoda Natsumi MD Takeuchi/Matsui (Hitachi) vs Takano/Tamate (Hitachi): Winners = Takano/Tamate WD Yonao/Miyaura (Yonex) vs Kawashima/Saito (ACT SAIKYO): Winners = Yonao/Miyaura XD Takashina (Hokkaido Badminton Federation?)/Araki (American Vape Gifu) vs Nishikawa/Ozaki (NTT-East): Winners = Nishikawa/Ozaki
Just a random thought... These XD escapades really bode well for the men's own MD and women's own WD eh? Back then was Misaki with Kenichi. Misaki improved drastically. Now Nagahara's defense improved and defense reply changed, set up changed, and it got them gold. Hoki's set up and intercepts improved, game reading as well. Got him silver at the WC. What's even more amazing (I find) is that they had more court time at Basel with XD (1 or 2 rounds then lost, didn't check exactly how many) so I think that does help somewhat for the court conditions, if anything? If XD is such a game changer for their main focus discipline, I'm all for Mayu and Kobayashi going at it! lol
@esppy I think you're a bit quick to come up with causality here, especially when it comes to Hoki. There is virtually no evidence whatsoever that his recent improvement has anything to do with him playing XD. There are a number of other reasons (some of the more likely, imo) which could have contributed to his recent rise in form: new coaching impulses by Tony Gunawan at his club and/or Tan Kim Her at the national team, or that he and Kobayashi got more athletic (can't remember Kobayashi having a killer smash two years back), or that their chemistry improved as they played together for longer. Maybe they also started beating their seniors in training which has given them a boost in confidence. It might be that playing xd improved the players you mentioned, the opposite might also be the case. We don't know that.
Not that I know of. There are a couple of twitter accounts with a large following, but nothing that approaches a discussion forum. I think that Badminton Central is very special in this respect.
This is actually an interesting idea. Some Japanese commentators made a similar remark about the positive impact of experimenting with XD, especially with regard to Hoki/Nagahara.
One thing Misaki and Nagahara gained after they played around with XD, to my observation, was the crouch forehand defense. Nagahara was doing it so much more often in WC19, compared to WC18 where she would forehand drive up the shot as a defense reply...
anyone know why Kazumasa Sakai departed from Unisys? i think he can retire in there, maybe be a couch or something like that. On many occasions, he can play better than Nishimoto or Tsuneyama.
Sakai injured himself last year and, unfortunately, hasn't been able to climb in the rankings since. In a recent interview published in Badminton Magazine, he hinted that the current coaching structure at Unisys didn't allow for any additional coaches. As you may recall, Ueda Takuma took up a coaching post there just this April. As such, given the lack of post-retirement openings at the corporate team, Sakai decided to return to Kanazawa Gakuin Club (KGC), which was actually his original affiliation before he transferred to Unisys. In addition to playing for the team (KGC features in the S/J League), Sakai is expected to have coaching responsibilities. And, more than anything, he is now a fully-fledged employee of Kanazawa Gakuin University; hence, he doesn't have to worry about his future. All-in-all, Sakai has managed to maneouvre himself cleverly here. Definitely, an intelligent move.
Happy that Koga Minoru won in the finals. He has good skills and is hard working. I am surprised that he lost at times to more experienced players. For WS, I was hoping to see Mizui Hirari , Oie or Asuka Takahashi ... but it is Shimoda Natsumi whom I have not heard off before.
Today's match at the Chinese Taipei Open between Watanabe Koki and Lu Chia-Hung should be interesting. Lu beat Watanabe at the SF of the 2015 World Junior Championships and proceeded to take the Gold medal. Watanabe had to settle for bronze. They haven't met since, and Watanabe may well have a point to prove here.
I was wanting Shimono to advance further; unfortunately after a very strong showing in the first two rounds, he suddenly withdrew. I hope that he is in a condition to participate in the Vietnam Open next week. Oie lost to Mizui, who in turn lost to Shimoda. At 26, Shimoda (Hiroshima Gas captain) has been around for a while, but with the exception of a semi-final at the 2017 Chinese Taipei Open, has largely restricted her activity to the domestic circuit. Currently, she is placed 17th in the domestic WS rankings, which is below Mizui (10th) and Takahashi (13th), but above Oie (21st).
