On October 23, 2018 , the NBA published its selection criteria for the 2019 National Team, effective from January 1 to December 31, 2019 (https://www.badminton.or.jp/national/rule.html <Japanese only>). The document is a little too long and convoluted to translate in its entirety, but the main indicators are as follows: Let me just mention that, in order to avoid this year's anomaly, where the top-listed Team A MS player (Takeshita Riichi) could not be employed in any high-ranking tournaments, the NBA has decided to revise the selection process (but not criteria). The same criteria as last year (see below) will be used to select the national team. However, these selection criteria will NOT be used to determine who will play for national team A or B. That decision will be taken in a newly established 2nd stage of the process, after the relevant NBA committee sees what players have actually made it onto the national team. Needless to add, this 2nd stage allows for much more discretion. Here it goes, A. 2019 National Team 1. National Team Composition 1) National Team A: 24 players (12 male, 12 female) MS/WS: 4 players each; MD/WD: 4 pairs each (with MD/WD players able to double up as XD players) 2) National Team B: 24 players (12 male, 12 female) MS/WS: 6 players each; MD/WD: 3 pairs each (with MD/WD players able to double up as XD players) 3) National Team Mixed Doubles: 3 pairs 2. Selection Criteria for the National Team (All Categories) <A and B teams to be determined afterwards> 1) Winner or Runner-up in the 2018 All Japan Championships (Finals played on December 2) 2) No. 1 in the the Domestic Rankings published after the All Japan Championships 3) Recommendation by the NBA Training/Performance Division B. Participation in International Tournaments: 1. Olympics/Asian Games/World Championships/Asian Championships/Thomas Uber Cup/Sudirman Cup: The NBA Training/Performance Division will select participants from the National A and B Teams. In tournaments which are Super 500 level or above: Players from National Team A. (Where permitted by the NBA Training/Performance Division, National Team B players may participate.) 2. Where National Team players wish to enter tournaments as self-financed participants, approval must first be sought from the NBA Training/Performance Division. 3. Provisions for self-financed participation are laid down separately in the 2019 Criteria for Self-financed Participation and Entry in International Tournaments. 4. Support Coach System: Provided that they remain under the control of the National Team Head Coach, each [corporate/university/HS/JHS, etc.] team may send up to 2 support staff members to international tournaments. -------------------------
With the S/J League season looming (S/J League II will start playing on November 16, and S/J League I on December 8), the relevant website has been updated (https://www.sj-league.jp/#/ <Japanese>). - Blocks, schedule, and ticket information: https://www.sj-league.jp/schedule/2018-19.html - Team and players' directory: https://www.sj-league.jp/#/team-info - Info on S/J League II: http://www.badminton-league.jp/
WD is super competitive right now they should expand that quota. There are 5 pairs in the top 10. Sakuramoto/Takahata should be in team A as well.
Why the WD category in Team A reduces to 4? WD has achieve much success and 5 pairs are in the top 10. These five pairs will be labeled as top committed players and have to play in higher level tournaments to avoid sanctions. I don't think that Ayaka/Yukiko will be send to lower level tournaments next year if they stay in the top 10 until the end of this year. Fukuman/Yonao still get to play in higher level tournaments despite being in National Team B since last year due to top committed player rules.
It is in the WD category that Paragraph 1 of Participating in International Tournaments is going to be applied. "In tournaments which are Super 500 level or above: Players from National Team A. (Where permitted by the NBA Training/Performance Division, National Team B players may participate.)" At the same time, though, you are right; five WD pairs sounds more appropriate. Maybe the NBA want to maintain a numerical balance between both the A and B teams, ... or maybe they want to keep the pressure on for another year. The MS and WS categories have also been reduced from five to four players. Whilst this is fine as far as MS is concerned (the way things are going, the NBA might as well reduce it to one slot ), what is the WS line-up going to be? Yamaguchi, Okuhara, Takahashi, and ?? Who, out of Ohori, Sato, and Kawakami, is going to be kept on? The results of the All Japan Championships are going to be pivotal here.
Maintain a numerical balance is good. From this year results, it is possible if MS and WS slot will be reduced. I don't see Sakai being able to compete in this higher level tournaments. For WS, besides AY, NO, ST, the other players have not perform good. AO seems to stagnated or even dropped in terms of performance.
Agree. It's not only Sakai, even though people really want to believe that Nishimoto and/or Tsuneyama are still going to amount to anything. They won't, as they've proven time and time again. Same goes for Watanabe/Higashino or any MD below Kamura/Sonoda. Simply not good enough to ever be "world class". Apart from KM, AY, NO, TK/KS and a whole lot of WDs, there really is no one with realistic chances, no promising youngster coming up either. The coaching staff should focus on nurturing and improving these top players while not overworking them. Park Joo Bong's eyes are probably bleeding watching Watahiga getting stomped by Wang/Huang yet again.
Yuta/Arisa won AE this year. Yuta also won Korea Open. I think Yuta/Arisa needs to be groomed rightly. Last year, they are R1/R2 casualty. But, that's not the case this year. As for Kenta and Kanta, they are still young. Maybe give them few years to improve? Btw, has PJB's eyes bleed again? Yuta/Arisa lost again against Wang/Huang.
Hi, kurako, just joined badminton Central. I, my Japanese wife and our son, we are big fan of kento momota. Spent many hours watching him play and very impressed by his excellent style. Just want to know if there is an English website or even better, live streaming of the coming Japan national badminton competition games? Just want to follow and see if there are any new "momotas" in-the-making. I think richita is quite hopeful but he is not young anymore. Tago was also good but he got banned in Japan didn't manage to get back into the team. Also very impressed by Matsumoto n nagahara, akane, okuhara and others. Thanks
Hi Pcyl, and welcome to Badminton Central! Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no English website on the All Japan Championships and, if it is a repeat of last year, there will be no live streaming either. The Japanese language website is available at https://www.badminton.or.jp/2018/alljapan/index.htm, and the list of entrants (main draw and qualifying round) has been determined and can be accessed at https://www.badminton.or.jp/2018/alljapan/entry_1106.pdf <Japanese>. I am not sure if we will get to see another Momota for a generation or so, but on the list, you will see the names of quite a few HS and university students. As far as men's singles is concerned, I will be interested to see how far No. 8 Naraoka Kodai (Namioka HS), No. 16 Koga Minoru (Waseda U), and No. 22 Midorikawa Hiroki (Saitama Sakae HS) go. And, although he is still too inexperienced to progress very far in this competition, No. 43 Takei Riki (Tomioka First JHS) is promising. I will let you know if there are any updates.
Saishunkan has added a young doubles player to their team roster (she's currently with the junior NT at the mixed team wc). Don't really know what to think about it, wasn't impressed with her play and she's only 153cm. I guess they're desperate to get at least someone.
There is 「内」inside the photo frame meaning that she is a 「内定選手」(prospective employee/player). She will be formally employed by Saishunkan starting next April. I wonder if she will be the only one. Actually, in the whole women's directory, I only found one other 内定選手 (Tricky Panders), and it is not Mizui. Maybe the negotiations are still ongoing.
Thank you kurako, I only joined 1 day and i forgot my login password. Even if there is no live telecast, i hope somebody can upload to youtube recordings of the games especially quarter finals and finals after the events. Delay recordings would also be nice to watch. Badminton is a sport I enjoy watching because from the moment the shuttle is served, every seconds the players will have to move to the right, ... left, ... back, ... forward, ... dive, ... jump, make quick decisions, maintain discipline, speed up, speed down, persevere with patience ... There is a non - stop action every seconds. To me , it looks like Momota is able to do all these things so much more smoother than many. It is like it is in his DNA system and he enjoys the game and all its challenges very much. He inspires me. Hope he can inspire many young badminton players in Japan to become World class players.
Hi @Pcyl The 2 JPN MS who still survive until the last 16 in 2018 BWF World Junior Championships are Kodai Naraoka and Riku Hatano. Overall JPN have 8 representatives in Round of 16. Here is the complete list of JPN players: https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=F6B352FE-DD7C-4F36-9F85-690ECB3C7D5A&c=JPN The match replay available at https://www.youtube.com/user/BadmintonCanada/videos?pbjreload=10
JPN had only one representative in the semi-finals, which is worse than the past few years. However, Kodai Naraoka made it to the finals where he will meet top seed Kunlavut VITIDSARN. Last year, he got a bronze medal. Can he repeat the feat of Momota, who won bronze in 2011 then gold in 2012?
Even in the worst case scenario, Naraoka still has next year to make amends. You never know, he could make it Bronze, Silver, Gold!
Naraoka is not going to make it gold. But he still has next year... Actually it hasn't been a bad year for the 2nd-year high school pupil; a bronze at the Youth Olympics, and a silver at the World Junior Championships.
Still don't know why Japan isn't loading up on MXD, the least competitive discipline right now. Forget about MD and take advantage of the massive amount of WD pairs. You can easily train for MXD at your respective clubs without the partner present.
With Yuta/Arisa win in Hongkong, they will placed in 3rd rank. This makes Japan has their players/pairs at the top 3 in all of the categories. So impressive! I can say that this is Japan badminton's best year.