Badminton in Japan

Unfortunately Shimono Hashiru had to retire from the Malaysia International Challenge yesterday. :( I hope it's not too serious. He only just recently returned to action following an unexplained retirement at the All Japan Members Championships in early September; the same injury may have flared up again. If so, then the timing is really unfortunate. The All Japan Championships, due to be held at the end of this month, will determine whether he can keep his place on the B Team.

As for the other participants in the Malaysia IC, Naraoka Kodai, Mizui Hirari, Takahashi Asuka, and Nidaira Natsuki have made it to the SF.

Naraoka, incidentally, will also be playing in the Bangladesh International Challenge and the Yonex K&D Graphics International Challenge in December. Surprisingly, in both of these tournaments, he will be joined by the following National Junior Team members:

Hatano Riku (MS): Saitama Sakae HS 3rd year (to be employed by Tonami from April 2020)
Takei Riki (MS): Futaba Future School HS 1st year (Futaba Future School is the successor to Tomioka JS & HS, Momota's alma mater, which was closed due to the fallout at Fukushima)
Kumatani/Fujizawa (MD): St. Ursula Gakuin Eichi HS 3rd year
 
Most JPN players withdrew from Korea Masters. AY and Takamatsu still opt to play there. I can understand that Takamatsu want to play there in order to catch up with their juniors. But, I can't understand why AY still opt to play there. Probably she plays there to get better seeding in WTF and avoid her compatriot NO in the same group. Whatever the case, it must be really tiring for AY.
 
minions said:
Most JPN players withdrew from Korea Masters. AY and Takamatsu still opt to play there. I can understand that Takamatsu want to play there in order to catch up with their juniors. But, I can't understand why AY still opt to play there. Probably she plays there to get better seeding in WTF and avoid her compatriot NO in the same group. Whatever the case, it must be really tiring for AY.
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I totally agree. Actually, Yamaguchi also has the All Japan Championships crown to defend .... next week. If Okuhara beats her, then it will be Okuhara who will head the WS players both on the NBA website, and on any players' lists. As a matter of pride, Yamaguchi will want to win, but I am not sure if her current condition will enable her to do this.

Yamaguchi's comments to Badpal, at the Hong Kong Open, where he interviewed her following her loss to Intanon:​

Although there were parts where I was able to play as intended, there were many areas where I wasn't able to perform either technically or mentally.

Even if there are some things I cannot do, I need to avoid falling into a vicious circle, where I lose confidence in what I can actually do at this point in time. I want to be confident about reproducing in actual matches those aspects that I have been able to accomplish during training.
 
Thanks Kurako,

Have been worried about AY. She is a powerful player who knows how to cleverly make full use of her height. She is very capable of defeating many top players ... when she is on top of her game. So, hard to get news about her and what is in her mind regarding how she intends to progress from where she is currently.
 
Is there any opportunity for MatsuShida to be selected in Team A?
Their record against top players is far better than MatsuNaga, which incidentally is always bullied by WD Korean and China now :rolleyes:
 
UKnowWho said:
Is there any opportunity for MatsuShida to be selected in Team A?
Their record against top players is far better than MatsuNaga, which incidentally is always bullied by WD Korean and China now :rolleyes:
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I can't recall MatsuShida ever beat the top players apart of FukuHiro. Any records?
 
minions said:
I can't recall MatsuShida ever beat the top players apart of FukuHiro. Any records?
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what I mean by the top players here are WD Korea and China such as Chang Ye Na - Kim Hye Rin, Baek Ha Na - Jung Kyung Eun, Du Yue - Li Yin Hui
Maybe for you they are not top players.

I think, they are able to compete even though they are still inconsistent. Let's see later ;)
 
UKnowWho said:
what I mean by the top players here are WD Korea and China such as Chang Ye Na - Kim Hye Rin, Baek Ha Na - Jung Kyung Eun, Du Yue - Li Yin Hui
Maybe for you they are not top players.

I think, they are able to compete even though they are still inconsistent. Let's see later ;)
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Yes, this is true. Seeing the competition right now, it will all depend on their result in All Japan Championship, right? And if there are still 4 spots for team A, then their real contender is Sakuramoto/Takahata. Hopefully they can play well when it counts the most.

If they can improve their defense and Matsuyama's error prone habit, then I believe they could reach top 3 at the very least just like their old compatriot FukuHiro
 
UKnowWho said:
Is there any opportunity for MatsuShida to be selected in Team A?
Their record against top players is far better than MatsuNaga, which incidentally is always bullied by WD Korean and China now :rolleyes:
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Yep, I concur with @Yulius that the All Japan Championships (AJC) is of vital significance here. Both Sakuramoto/Takahata and Shida/Matsuyama will be vying for the opening left by Yonemoto/Tanaka who, due to injury, will not be participating in the AJC this year.

Other areas of contention as far as Team A is concerned include:
MS: Who will replace Sakai?
WS: Will Kawakami pose a threat to Ohori?
XD: Can Gondo/Kurihara retain their berth?

Also, if there are any huge upsets, will PJB actually take the risk of shuffling the current line-up in the run-up to the Olympics? As you know, irrespective of world ranking, only Team A members are ever given access to the top BWF tournaments. Therefore, if any of the Team A players were to be dropped following the AJC, it would spell the end of their Tokyo 2020 hopes.

It is going to be a nerve-wracking All Japan this year, all around.

Edit: Just looking at the Gwangju Master's scoreline, I don't think that Kawakami has what it takes....
I suppose, I'll have to wait for Takahashi Asuka (?).
 
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kurako said:
Yep, I concur with @Yulius that the All Japan Championships (AJC) is of vital significance here. Both Sakuramoto/Takahata and Shida/Matsuyama will be vying for the opening left by Yonemoto/Tanaka who, due to injury, will not be participating in the AJC this year.

Other areas of contention as far as Team A is concerned include:
MS: Who will replace Sakai?
WS: Will Kawakami pose a threat to Ohori?
XD: Can Gondo/Kurihara retain their berth?

...
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Thanks, as always, for your team JPN news and stuff! I did laugh out loud at the Gondo/Kurihara point. I think it's only a matter of time before they lose their A team position.
 
pradeep chand said:
what are advantages of A team ?
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1. Access to 1000, 750, and 500 level tournaments. National Team B players are generally excluded from these, with the exception of a couple of 500 tours, and the Japan Open; hence they enjoy far fewer opportunities to play against elite players and to earn points.
2. A totally separate training regimen.
3. A totally different set of coaches.

pradeep chand said:
and what position they should reach in AJC to be part of A team
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Until 2018, access to Team A was guaranteed to the winner and runner-up of the AJC, and any player(s) ranked 1st in the domestic rankings. However, unexpectedly, Takeshita Riichi won the MS in 2017 and, according to the provisions of the time, a place on the A Team. Due to his low ranking, he was totally unemployable, however, and thus the rules were amended to guarantee winners and runners-up a place on the national team, without specifying Team A or B.

Therefore, according to current provisions, nobody is guaranteed a place on Team A as a result of their standing in the AJC alone. But it does serve as an important reference.

Let me just add that due to limited space in the national training facility, the current number of Team A members is not expected to increase in 2020, i.e., 12 players each for the men's and women's teams (four singles and four doubles, with some players doubling up as mixed doubles).

Finally, just now having glanced over the 2020 Criteria for National Team Selection, published on November 18, I noted an interesting new provision:
→ Members on National Team A in 2019, who were not selected for National Team A in 2020, may still enter themselves for the Olympic Race that will run until the end of April 2020 as self-financed players.

Now, who could this be referring to?
 
kurako said:
→ Members on National Team A in 2019, who were not selected for National Team A in 2020, may still enter themselves for the Olympic Race that will run until the end of April 2020 as self-financed players.

Now, who could this be referring to?
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Wow. In November they tell players they may enter the Olympic race on a self-financed basis - when most of said race is already over.
Quite outrageous. I'm certainy Yonex and especially Saishunkan would have sent their top WDs to bigger tournaments if they knew that beforehand.
 
Cunning Linguist said:
Wow. In November they tell players they may enter the Olympic race on a self-financed basis - when most of said race is already over.
Quite outrageous. I'm certainy Yonex and especially Saishunkan would have sent their top WDs to bigger tournaments if they knew that beforehand.
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The above provision only applies to players who were already National A team members in 2019. Basically, those players who are not selected for the A Team in 2020 as a result of, for example, a below par performance in the AJC next week, will be able to participate in 1000, 750, and 500 level tournaments until April 2020 out of their own (or their corporate team's) pocket. An exception is being made to the rule that only A Team members may enter for high-level tournaments, ... but only on the condition that the affected players were A team members this year.

Having said that, Shida/Matsuyama did really well today! Now, if they manage to get onto the A Team this time around, would they have any chance of knocking down two of the top three pairs before the race ends?
 
kurako said:
Having said that, Shida/Matsuyama did really well today! Now, if they manage to get onto the A Team this time around, would they have any chance of knocking down two of the top three pairs before the race ends?
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Is it even possible? But even if the possibility regarding the points is still there, it is very hard to catch up the points of NagaMatsu (because I believe FukuHiro is the most secure one to be qualified to Tokyo).
 
kurako said:
Having said that, Shida/Matsuyama did really well today! Now, if they manage to get onto the A Team this time around, would they have any chance of knocking down two of the top three pairs before the race ends?
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Is it even possible? But even if the possibility regarding the points is still there, it is very hard to catch up the points of NagaMatsu (because I believe FukuHiro is the most secure one to be qualified to Tokyo).
 
kurako said:
Having said that, Shida/Matsuyama did really well today! Now, if they manage to get onto the A Team this time around, would they have any chance of knocking down two of the top three pairs before the race ends?
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Even they can give more fight to their senior/other top players now, but consistency is their main problem, on one occasion they can be defeated by unexpected players. But they are certainly future Japan's WD after Tokyo 2020.
 
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