Yuki Fukushima (福島由紀) and Sayaka Hirota (廣田彩花)

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GingerCorslette

Regular Member
No thread for this pair yet, surprisingly.

They first gained widespread attention after winning in Malaysia this year where they beat CQC/JYF and MM/AT; even more upon reaching the WC final and winning silver. More likely they will be the second pair to go to the next Olympics for Japan. They currently lead H2H over compatriots MM/AT.

What are they preferred attacking positions? From watching I can say Sayaka could be the backcourt player, although Yuki has a stronger smash.

Their style mostly revolves on defense and patience, always waiting for the right moment to attack, just like the old WD days... Expect long rallies with this pair as well. I guess it's safe to critic that they've to improve on creative shots, as right now they beat higher-ranked opponents by outlasting them. Much like SJH in WS.

Lastly, Yuki has this slightly cute mannerism of grimacing, showing bared teeth. Win or lose the point, she does it. IDK, I just find that cute. Keep an eye on that. :D
 
I wouldn't say Sayaka is the backcourt player; she's much more insistent on going forwards to the net than Yuki is. It's not uncommon that the harder smasher is not actually the backcourt player (they have less accuracy or pull themselves out of position more or make more mistakes or some other reason - think of Shin SeungChan as an example).

What confuses me a little is that the Japanese never switch partners.
 
Oh yes, I remember Yuki playing with a different partner for a period last year. Then there was a final when she and Sayaka faced each other (WD) with different partners. I think Sayaka and partner won.

Worth noting that Yuki was a singles player too.
 
This pair play very well and have a good vibe about them. They visually support each other on court and seem to enjoy their badminton rather than just giving in to the pressure and not letting their personalities show.

It's good to see!

Also like that Fukushima, as petite as she is, is hammering away and returning high with the sledgehammer that is the VT80 Etune. :)
 
GingerCorslette said:
Oh yes, I remember Yuki playing with a different partner for a period last year. Then there was a final when she and Sayaka faced each other (WD) with different partners. I think Sayaka and partner won.

Worth noting that Yuki was a singles player too.
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Yes, I think this was about getting the young team mates some ranking points. Their team, Saishunkan Kumamoto, acquired 4 young doubles players in the past two years and I think they wanted to promote them. Yuki played with Chiharu Shida while Sayaka played with Nao Ono iirc.
In the long term, the plan is clearly to have pairings of Shida/Matsuyama and Ono/Imai, though the latter is not particularly good.
For Shida/Matsuyama, you might already open another thread. ;)
http://www.saishunkan-badminton.jp/archives/member
 
The way that Fukushima and Hirota have played themselves from rank 24 in the world in february to #5 now, have become vice world champions and #2 in Destination Dubai rankings, is just out of this world good. Not once did they have an easy draw, they always came in as unseeded or very low seeded, had to face the very best opposition at the tournaments and just went ahead and beat them. And in the instances they didn't beat them, at least they put up a big fight.
I admit I'm quite the fanboy when it comes to the Kumamoto ladies, but I don't feel like a fool when I say that they've been the players of 2017 so far. Well ahead of even Okuhara, Kidambi or CYF, simply because of the quality that was put in front of them all year and the consistency in which they delt with said opposition. Just take a look at their record against top pairs in 2017:

3-1 vs Chang Ye Na/Lee So Hee
1-2 vs Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan
1-1 vs Fukuman/Yonao
3-0 vs Huang Dongping/Li Yinhui
2-0 vs Huang Yaqiong/Tang Jinhua
1-0 vs Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan
1-1 vs Rytter Juhl/Pedersen
2-0 vs Matsutomo/Takahashi

Once again, starting from 24 in the world. Absolutely bananas.
Edit: And now I do actually feel like a fool because I forgot TTY. She's obviously still far and away the best player of the year.
 
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Badminton Unlimited 2017 | Episode 199 : Yuki Fukushima & Sayaka Hirota - Women’s Doubles (Japan)

“Japan’s second ranked pair, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota impressed at the recent TOTAL BWF World Championships and bettered their high-flying compatriots by winning silver in Glasgow.”

 
Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota vs Ayaka Takahashi/Misaki Matsutomo : 21-14, 21-18

Fukushima/Hirota have got their first ever title at All Japan Championships

winner_wd.jpg
 
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The second half of the year was not as stellar as the first, but wow, most improved indeed. Winning the National Championships (straight games against Tanaka/Yonemoto and Takamatsu) should give them a confidence boost for Dubai. Let's hope they'll go far and crown an already splendid year.
 
GingerCorslette said:
Feel sorry for the AE final.. 20-19 in the first game could've changed the entire match. Yuki already pump-fisted to celebrate the game-saving point. What a miss...

I'll always support these girls, hope they win AG
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Agree, and I honestly feel they should go into a game like this with a little more attacking confidence. They've shown in the last year that they belong to the top, and their style of play should reflect the will to win tournaments. Sounds so ridiculous, it could be a comment by one of the new BWF commentators, but I'll give an example: if you take that 100+ shot rally in the final, which was decided when Juhl stepped in to kill it and got rewarded for it - she wanted to win the point. Fukuhiro imo looked like they didn't want to lose it. At this level, this is what's deciding the games.
Nevertheless, at this time last year, they were ranked 23 in the world. Since then, they've made the three biggest finals in the game and are much closer to rank 1,2,3 than to 5. Stunning achievement. What they now need is the swag of champions. ;)
 
Swag could be the right word, because ATM among all four top WD Japanese pairs there's really nothing separating their style of play. They all play patient and wait for an error or to kill a weak reply.
 
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