endo must be sweating over the chance to play in tokyo next year, with this rising pair of Toki/Koba competing with them for the 2nd spot beside TK/KS.
I dont think Endo is sweating it or perhaps TK/KS that is sweating more. I think they (KamSon) are 3rd in Japan Race to Tokyo currently. TH/YK will get lots of points from this WC.
Will the Japanese dominate the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics next year as they do this year's WC? Except for XD, they are represented in all the other 4 events, and they already have the WD in the bag! Surprisingly, China was reduced to representation in only one event, the XD, which they are favourites to win. How many more events can Japan win today? 2 or 3 events - the WS, MS, and MD? Or none at all? Your prediction? Order of play of Sunday, August 25, 2019 1. Starting at 12:00 PM WD Mayu MATSUMOTO [1] Wakana NAGAHARA - Yuki FUKUSHIMA [2] Sayaka HIROTA 2. Followed by WS Nozomi OKUHARA [3] - PUSARLA V. Sindhu [5] 3. Followed by MS Kento MOMOTA [1] - Anders ANTONSEN [5] 4. Followed by XD ZHENG Si Wei [1] HUANG Ya Qiong - Dechapol PUAVARANUKROH [4] Sapsiree TAERATTANACHAI 5. Followed by MD Mohammad AHSAN [4] Hendra SETIAWAN - Takuro HOKI [12] Yugo KOBAYASHI
My predictions: WD: Mayu MATSUMOTO [1] Wakana NAGAHARA WS: PUSARLA V. Sindhu [5] MS: Kento MOMOTA XD: :Dechapol PUAVARANUKROH [4] Sapsiree TAERATTANACHAI MD: Mohammad AHSAN [4] Hendra SETIAWAN Really impressed with the XD and MD pairs from Thailand and Indonesia this week. Hope they can also show this form tomorrow. Singles could be close but in the end i see Momota and Sindhu win them.
Country representatives in Final 5 - JPN 1 - CHN, INA, THA, IND, DEN List of the WC medalists. MS Final - Kento Momota (Japan) vs Anders Antonsen (Denmark) Bronze - B. Sai Praneeth (India) Bronze - Kantaphon Wangcharoen (Thailand) WS Final - Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) vs Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (India) Bronze - Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) Bronze - Chen Yu Fei (China) MD Final - Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) vs Takuro Hoki / Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) Bronze - Fajar Alfian / M. Rian Ardianto (Indonesia) Bronze - Li Jun Hui / Liu Yu Chen (China) WD Final - Mayu Matsumoto / Wakana Nagahara (Japan) vs Yuki Fukushima / Sayaka Hirota (Japan) Bronze - Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu (Indonesia) Bronze - Du Yue / Li Yin Hui (China) XD Final - Zheng Si Wei / Huang Ya Qiong (China) vs Dechapol Puavaranukroh / Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) Bronze - Yuta Watanabe / Arisa Higashino (Japan) Bronze - Wang Yi Lyu / Huang Dong Ping (China)
Actually, they have a rule similar to table-tennis -- it's not the NO. of calls (that would be stupid, cos a player can slip many times), but max 1st-aid time (5 or 10 mins).... IOW, if you need more than the max amt of 1st-aid time per call (which the umpire will only allow for NEW/different ailments), then you must forfeit/retire.
In 2017, Nozomi had to play 3 game matches to win her quarter final and semifinal. Sindhu had better be prepared for more than an hour on court.
I'm just sad that Japan did not use Hoki and Koba at all for their Sudirman Cup campaign back then. These guys have potential.
In the last 4 major tournaments, only the trio OG 2016 medalists have appeared in these finals. They are CM, NO, PVS. During these major tournaments, they only lose to each others. 2016 - OG Final - CM vs PVS. CM won. SF - NO vs PVS. PVS won. 2017 - WC Final - NO vs PVS. NO won. QF - NO vs CM. NO won. 2018 - WC Final - CM vs PVS. CM won. QF - NO vs PVS. PVS won. 2019 - WC Final - NO vs PVS. CM is absent in this tournament.
I don't think Kam/Son will be out of top 8 by next year so they should be safe. While Endo's fate will also depend on if Watanabe will be sent to do double duty or just focus on XD (if they are still in top 8 next year)
DAY 7 - FINAL (12.00pm) => https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/...F75B1C-E72D-4248-865F-8EC38C06F7CB&d=20190825 JAPAN STRIKES BACK Japan redeems Sudirman Cup setback to show off their superiority in World Championships, securing five final spots leaving China, Denmark, India, Indonesia and Thailand as well with one representative each. Arch-rival China has flop performance in almost all categories except mixed doubles. THIRD TIME LUCKY? Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN) v Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN) H-2-H stats : 4-4 / WR : 1 v 3 World number three pair Fukushima/Hirota reach third world championships final in a row. The Japanese lost to Chen QC/Jia YF in Glasgow and last year must suffered painful losing to younger teammates Matsumoto/Nagahara, the replay of Nanjing final will be served as today's first match. FukuHiro tame Chinese youngsters Du Y/Li YH who couldn't break their solid wall opponent, 21-11 / 21-17. In second session defending champion MatsuNaga power past Polii/Rahayu also with two straight-games, 21-12 / 21-19 despite the Indonesian deliver stiff resistance to close the gap in second set. A projected gruelling showdown between these two finalists to determine who can top podium at the end. GLASGOW RERUN Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) v Pusarla V.Sindhu (IND) H-2-H : 7-8 / WR : 4 v 5 Badminton fans will witness women's singles grand final flashback, Pusarla Venkatta Sindhu will face Nozomi Okuhara once again. The Indian darling scores incredible feat to enter major tournament finals, started from 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 2018 Asian Games and three consecutive World Championships (2017, 2018, 2019). This time Sindhu will eye the pinnacle of her career, claiming women's singles crown in Basel. She passed most difficult opposition in quarterfinal to beat Tai Tzu Ying then demolished Chinese number one Chen Yu Fei, 21-7 / 21-14 yesterday. The error-proned Chen who looked fatigue and frustrated as Sindhu could answer all her shots steadily with superb counter attack that rattling Chen confidence. Okuhara bounced back after losing momentum in opening game against Ratchanok Intanon, the Japanese starlet balancing her skillful rival with agility and patient play also strong defense to tire Intanon as the Thai started to produce uncharacteristic mistake and lack of accuracy in deciding game, 17-21 / 21-18 / 21-15 that hits 83 minutes of play. DANISH AMBITION Kento Momota (JPN) v Anders Antonsen (DEN) H-2-H : 3-1 / WR : 1 v 9 22 years old Anders Antonsen sets highest goal of his career, being World Champion to emulate his senior Viktor Axelsen in 2017. Antonsen plays near perfect to dictate and controls whole match against Kantaphon Wangcharoen with good tactic and determination as the Thai rising star couldn't do too much to disrupt his rival rhythm. One more step for world number nine to complete his fairy tale ending, he will challenge title-holder and hot favorite Kento Momota who also performs flawless how he tackling Sai Praneeth, 21-13 / 21-8. The Indian runs out of idea to deal with the very well-prepared world number one, an anticlimax from his two previous performance. Head to head stats indicating Momota has advantage but the Japanese was stunned by Antonsen in last meeting, INA Masters final early this year. THAI NEW HISTORY Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong (CHN) v Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) H-2-H : 7-1 / WR : 1 v 4 The dynamic duo Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai did it again to pose the hardest obstacle for Chinese supremacy in mixed doubles category, beating the in-form world number two Wang YL/Huang DP straight forwardly, 21-16 / 21-16. They will up against China talisman Zheng SW/Huang YQ who overcome Japanese challengers Watanabe/Higashino, 21-10 / 21-15. Multiple champions Zheng/Huang have grave burden to save China blush, avoiding humiliating outcome, being empty handed first time in world championships arena since 1983. On paper, it should be daunting task for Thai duo but if the title-hold being under pressure and couldn't exploit their true capability, the story will be reversed this time. THE DADDIES MISSION Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA) v Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) H-2-H : 1-0 / WR : 2 v 13 Ahsan/Setiawan revive their badminton career to shoot third men's doubles crown after 2013 and 2015 edition. The Indonesian veterans redefined standard of play with smart tactic and effortless disguising shots that often troubling their younger opponents who have advantage in terms of stamina and speed. The world number two down the comeback Alfian/Ardianto in three games, 21-16 / 15-21 / 21-10. Surprising finalist, third-ranked Japanese combination Hoki/Kobayashi with their rapid-fire style knock out defending champion Li JH/Liu YC, 21-19 / 21-13. The underdogs seal crucial opening game, 21-19 then China twin towers collapse in second, 21-13. Barring a huge upset, it should be Indonesia who reclaim men's double title.
Here are the outcomes if they become WC champion today. MS - Kento Momota (Japan) Successfully defend the title His second WC title Become the 4th MS player to defend the title MS - Anders Antonsen (Denmark) Become the 4th DEN MS player to win WC His highest title ever Reaches his highest rank ever, the 5th rank WS - Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) Her second WC title Become the second non-Chinese WS player to win more than 1 WC title Reaches her highest rank ever, being the 1st rank WS - Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (India) Become the first IND player to win WC Winning the WC title on her third WC final Her highest title ever MD - Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) Their third WC title as a pair Remain unbeaten in WC as a pair For Hendra, it will be his 4th WC title, equalizing Cai/Fu's WC title record MD - Takuro Hoki / Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) Become the first JPN MD pair to win WC Reaches their highest rank ever, being the 9th rank Their highest title ever WD - Mayu Matsumoto / Wakana Nagahara (Japan) Successfully defend the title Their second WC title as a pair Remain unbeaten in WC as a pair WD - Yuki Fukushima / Sayaka Hirota (Japan) Reaches the 2nd rank Winning the WC title on her third WC final Their highest title ever XD - Zheng Si Wei / Huang Ya Qiong (China) Successfully defend the title Their second WC title as a pair Remain unbeaten in WC as a pair XD - Dechapol Puavaranukroh / Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) Become the first THA pair to win WC Reaches their highest rank ever, being the 3rd rank Their highest title ever
At his parents' basement. Speaking of which where's that TPE guy who defeated him in the title match.