It looks possible that the day-by-day results of the All Japan Championships will be accessible on Tournament Software!! https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament?id=E3AEC76D-32F1-41CC-B451-2BD7FB216359 Yes, most of the information will no doubt be written in Japanese, but this is progress!! Tune-in from November 26.
The qualification rounds of the All Japan Championships took place today, and both Takahashi Asuka and Oie Natsuki made it through. Takahashi played four matches (two qualification rounds both for WS and WD), though, which must have taken a toll. The excitement starts tomorrow, in the order of WS (9:00~), MD (10:20~), WD (11:40~), MS (13:00~), and XD (14:20~). I don't have the time to translate the entire draws into English; however, if you want to know the opponent of any particular player(s), but can't read the Japanese, please let me know.
i hope Asuka Takahashi and Oie will give their best performance. They should realise that they do have what it takes to go far. it will mean hard work and training, yes. but no pain no gain. another rising star is riko gunji.
@kurako Apologize to bother you, but I'm quite confused about the Team A/Team B selection criteria for 2020. I will take MS as an example. As per NBA, we will have 4 slots of MS for Team A in 2020. 2 will be the champion and runner-up of AJC, another 1 will be the Top rank of the National Ranking. Let assume that Momota will be the champ and Nishimoto is the runner-up, so we will still have 2 slots left, because Momota is also the 1st ranking. How will NBA decide the remaining slots? Will the choose semi-finalists and come down from that, or any other criteria? And in case a member of team A suffers early lost, any possibility for him to retain his slot in Team A? Thank you in advance
very unfortunate for Gunji to meet Yamaguchi in the 2nd round bad draw for Gunji How I wish she was drawn at the bottom half
Actually, absolutely nothing in the criteria for national team selection defines the qualifications for a place on Team A. Until 2017, it used to be that 2~3 out of the 4 Team A slots (taking MS as an example) were determined by 1) being either champion or runner-up in the AJC, and 2) being ranked No. 1 in the national rankings. However, in 2018 the provisions were amended, and now champions, runners-up, and National No. 1s are only guaranteed a place on the National Team, ... there is no promise of a place on Team A. This amendement was initiated with the purpose of preventing players with a low world rank from securing a Team A slot, ... irrespective of however well they do in the AJC. It was a lesson learnt from Takeshita Riichi's surprise victory in 2017. So, in the absence of any clear provisions, it is up to the NBA's discretion as to who makes it onto Team A. As far as this year is concerned, I expect Momota, Tsuneyama, and Nishimoto to retain their places, the question being, who will be selected to take over from Sakai Kazumasa. On paper, Watanabe Koki looks to be the strongest contender, but the AJC draw is stacked against him. All of the promising players are in the botton half of the draw, along with Tsuneyama and Nishimoto. Watanabe Koki will meet Tsuneyama in the QF; Naraoka has an even trickier draw. Sakai, who is in the top half of the draw, by comparison, faces very little resistance (Igarashi...), and may even make it to the SF. In the end, Item 3(4) of the Selection Critieria will have the most weight; i.e., "Those players recommended by the [NBA] National Team Performance Committee."
Ryoukai ne. So finally it's still up to the decision of NBA and no clear criteria. Quite disappointed to hear that
Round 1 of the All Japan Championships is well underway. As far as WS 'upsets' are concerned, Urushizaki Mako (San-in Godo Bank) and Mizui Hirari (NTT-East), both National Team B players, have been shown the door by Oie Natsuki (NTT-East) and Hayashi Moto (ACT SAIKYO), respectively. Sato Sayaka, former Team A player, is also out. R2 tie-ups scheduled for tomorrow are as follows: Yamaguchi Akane (Team A, Saishunkan) v Gunji Riko (National Junior, Yatsushiro Shirayuri Gakuen HS) Saito Shiori (Team B, ACT SAIKYO) v Takahashi Asuka (Team B, Yonex) Kawakami Saena (Team B, Hokuto Bank) v Nidaira Natsuki (Tonami) Takahashi Miyu (National Junior, Aomori Yamada HS) v Ohori Aya (Team A, Tonami) Takahashi Sayaka (Team A, Unisys) v Suzuki Haruko (American Vape) Hayashi Moto (ACT SAIKYO) v Mine Ayumi (Team B, Saishunkan) Mitani Minatsu (NTT-East) v Oie Natsuki (NTT-East) Shimoda Natsumi (Hiroshima Gas) v Okuhara Nozomi (Team A, Taiyo Holdings)
MS is currently being played; Watanabe Koki is one point away from victory... and he has taken the match.
MD Hoki/Kobayashi conceded a walkover, ... so they are out! I cannot see them being dropped from Team A, though....?? Apart from that, no surprises in R1 of the MD category. And the same goes for WD.
MS also went according to script, ... but why did Naraoka need 72 minutes to dispose of his opponent in straight games? Tomorrow's line-up is: Momota Kento (Team A, NTT-East) v Maruo Ryotaro (Hitachi Engineering) Koga Minoru (Team B, NTT-East) v Onodera Yusuke (Unisys) Igarashi Yu (Team B, Unisys) v Obayashi Takuma (Team B, Waseda U) Tanaka Yushi (Nihon U) v Sakai Kazumasa (Team A, Kanazawa Gakuin Club) Tsuneyama Kanta (Team A, Tonami) v Minegishi Hikaru (Hosei U) Kozai Kazuteru (Ryukoku U employee) v Watanabe Koki (Team B, Unisys) Shimono Hashiru (Team B, Tonami) v Naraoka Kodai (National Junior, Namioka HS) Omoto Shota (Team B, Hitachi Engineering) v Nishimoto Kenta (Team A, Tonami)
Smash and Net.TV has made digest videos of selected matches in R1 of the All Japan Championships available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF0hDrh9A45LVobyT2ZkXOg
So, Day 3 (R2) of the All Japan Championships is over, and whilst Team A mostly remain in contention (there was actually a shock exit by Gondo/Kurihara today), Team B has been SERIOUSLY diluted. The ousting of the top B batters in both MS and WS by lesser mortals has caused ripples, and Watanabe Koki will have probably bid farewell to any hopes he had of making it onto Team A. Those B Teamers no longer in the fray include (MS) Watanabe Koki, Obayashi Takuma, Shimono Hashiru, Omoto Shota, (WS) Kawakami Saena, and Saito Shiori, with Urushizaki Mako and Mizui Hirari already losing in R1. In his post-match interview, Kozai Kazuteru commented that he noticed Watanabe Koki feeling the pressure and moving badly, and that he took advantage of the situation. There will be no place for Kozai on the national team, though. The veteran player will be retiring from active competition for a coaching position with the Ryukoku University team. And whilst most of Team A won their matches, some of them had more difficult rides than others: Yamaguchi was troubled by Gunji Riko, this year's World Junior Champion; and Sakai Kazumasa, too, was made to work by university student, Tanaka Yushi. Tomorrow's QF will feature the following players: 1. MS Momota Kento (Team A, NTT-East) v Koga Minoru (Team B, NTT-East) Igarashi Yu (Team B, Unisys) v Sakai Kazumasa (Team A, Kanazawa Gakuin Club) Tsuneyama Kanta (Team A, Tonami) v Kozai Kazuteru (Ryukoku U employee) Naraoka Kodai (National Junior, Namioka HS) v Nishimoto Kenta (Team A, Tonami) ... Dare I hope for a miracle here? 2. WS Yamaguchi Akane (Team A, Saishunkan) v Takahashi Asuka (Team B, Yonex) ... This could turn out to be a battle! Nidaira Natsuki (Tonami) v Ohori Aya (Team A, Tonami) Takahashi Sayaka (Team A, Unisys) v Mine Ayumi (Team B, Saishunkan) Oie Natsuki (NTT-East) v Okuhara Nozomi (Team A, Taiyo Holdings) 3. MD Sonoda/Kamura (Team A, Tonami) v Takano/Tamate (Hitachi Engineering) Koga/Saito (Team B, NTT-East) v Inoue/Kaneko (Team A, Unisys) Mikami/Shimogami (Nippon Sport Science U) v Okamura/Onodera (Team B, Unisys/Waseda U) Ichikawa/Umayahara (JTEKT) v Endo/Watanabe (Team A, Unisys) 4. WD Fukushima/Hirota (Team A, American Vape) v Otake/Takahashi (Aomori Yamada HS) Shida/Matsuyama (Team B, Saishunkan) v Sakuramoto/Takahata (Team B, Yonex) .... Who will secure that coveted Team A slot? Takahashi/Matsutomo (Team A, Unisys) v Hoshi/Matsuda (Team B, Unisys) Kurihara/Shinoya (Unisys) v Nagahara/Matsumoto (Team A, Hokuto Bank) 5. XD Watanabe/Higashino (Team A, Unisys) v Yamashita/Shinoya (Team B, Nippon Sport Science U/Unisys) Nidaira/Uesugi (Meiji U) v Midorikawa/Saito (Team B, Waseda U/ACT SAIKYO) Mitsuhashi/Matsuda (Nihon U/Unisys) v Kaneko/Nakanishi (Unisys) Nishikawa/Ozaki (NTT-East) v Hoki/Nagahara (Team A, Tonami/Hokuto Bank) Congrats to the three high school students who have made it this far: Naraoka Kodai and WD pair, Otake/Takahashi.
Mitani Minatsu, in her post-match interview (she lost in R2 to Oie Natsuki), commented that today's was probably her last match before retirement. As of April 2020 she will switch to 'regular' employment at NTT-East. Interestingly, when she finished in the top eight in last year's All Japan Championships, Mitani was actually offered a Team B slot, but chose to decline it. She already felt at that point shat she had achieved as much as she could, and simply wanted to spend her last active year with her corporate team. Mitani added that her ten-year stint as a national team member had been gruelling. And, whilst in a few years' time she might again become involved in the sport, having spent so long exercising self-restraint, she first needs some time to enjoy herself.
