A close shave for TakaMatsu, who managed to exact revenge on the Chinese pair who beat them last week at the BAC.
LXR is back with a BANG! Her strategy was to push AY to the back with fast, quality low shots, thus controlling AY throughout G2 and G3. A well deserved victory!
Wow, LXR has it in her! She is not finished. Congrats to her for beating AY. I think this is the first time she beat the top player post-injury.
Man, KimKong was so close to pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in badminton history from 9-18 down.
Nothing to do with the Reiwa holiday. National Team A players are all present in a self-financed capacity. As they are not financed by the public purse, there is no need to wear national uniform, ... although some have chosen to do so. National Team B coaches are present by the way; ... although the players have all been eliminated.
The NBA customarily only supports National Team B in the New Zealand Open. That policy hasn't changed this year (the annual plan was published last December, I think). However, with the Olympics looming, many National Team A players (and the corporations that employ them) perceive it in their interest to participate in even the lower ranked tournaments. And, of course, is NBA is happy to see this happen; the association has granted formal permission for these self-financed players to take part. We are going to see the same scenario in the Australia Open.
Congrats to KimKong for advancing to the finals. They now have a chance to beat all of the 4 seeded Japanese WD pairs back-to-back.