Akane Yamaguchi ( 山口 茜 )

kurako said:
Playing for her home prefecture may have meant a lot to her.
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Might be
I dont know

It is up to her to select which tournaments are to be played
It is duly time already, she is getting into the golden age and if she does not become smarter in her tournaments selection, it might be bad or even dangerous for her
 
Just watching AY vs TTY at French open's final.

AY really did a good job luring TTY into her trap doing her (TTY) trademark. At the front court fight, AY lured TTY using her usual cross net netting then make TTY push the shuttle to the back corner. And then AY kill the shuttle when TTY push it to the back corner. Really impressive!! She even used that trap at match point. AY surely know TTY's gameplay, it worked every time TTY used her trademark.

Really big kudos for AY. I'm still speechless :eek::eek:.
 
:D:D:D:D

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I don't understand one bit, but this video is about youngster Riko Gunji, who seems to idolize AY and got the opportunity to go for a training training session with Saishunkan and the queen herself. Maybe someone versed in Japanese can give a hint if she's seen as a prospect for the team or if this was just some make-a-wish/media event.
Akane seems to be her usual self, meaning as competent in social situations as I am in Japanese. :D

 
I can only provide a very brief summary, but this show is about future "monsters". Riko Gunji is a 16 year old who hopes to one day play in the Olympics and represent her country. Akane is her idol as she thinks highly of her attack and defense, and also thinks that her rallies are very entertaining. Riko lives in Yokohama but wanted to be closer to Akane, so for high school she even moved 1200km to Kyushu to be closer to her idol! When she got a chance to play against her idol, she thought that she was only using 50% of her strength.

In the tournament that Riko played, she lost to Ayumi Mine who was previously rank 16 in the World.
 
Cunning Linguist said:
Maybe someone versed in Japanese can give a hint if she's seen as a prospect for the team or if this was just some make-a-wish/media event.
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As there are other high school options nearer to home, Gunji's move to Kyushu means that she is probably eyeing Saishunkan as a future employer, ... and Saishunkan ought to be interested, too.

As for Gunji's past achievements; according to the video:
1. Elementary School 4th ~ 6th grade: All Japan Elementary School Champion
2. As of September 2018: All Japan Junior Champion (This, incidentally, includes all Juniors up to High School 2nd grade, i.e., up to 16~17 year-olds. Gunji is currently a 1st-year High School pupil).

Other achievements, not mentioned in the video, include:
1. As a 2nd-year JHS pupil: 3rd place, Asia Junior U-15
2. As a 3rd-year JHS pupil: Runner-up, Asia Junior U-17
3. As a 1st-year HS pupil: 3rd place, All Japan High School Championships (Mizui Hirari won this)

Importantly, the tournament that featured in this video was none other than the All Japan Championships (AJC). Although she lost in R1 to Mine (21-13, 21-10) , Gunji earned her place here by virtue of having become the All Japan Junior Champion, which is a clear indicator of promise. Actually, even Yamaguchi commented that it is difficult to read whether Gunji is going to return either straight- or cross-shots, and this echoes what Gunji's class-mates said at the beginning of the video. Her form is compact, and therefore unreadable. Gunji, incidentally, attributed her first-round loss at the AJC to a lack of physical strength.

BTW, this is very trivial, but this video features not so much a training session with Saishunkan per se, as a training session for all players in the Kyushu area who would be participating in the AJC, i.e., predominantly Saishunkan players.

As @ant01 mentioned, Gunji sees Yamaguchi as a role model. She specifically likes the fact that Yamaguchi sets out to "enjoy" badminton, and show that this is an "enjoyable" sport. [... IMO, in stark contrast to Okuhara.]

That aside, how on earth did you manage to come across this video in the first place???
 
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kurako said:
[...]

That aside, how on earth did you manage to come across this video in the first place???
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@ant01 @kurako
Thanks a lot, you two. Seems certainly like someone to look forward to as a new recruit. Given her age, that probably won't be anytime soon, though and a top doubles youngster would have been more urgent anyway (still can't get over Natsu Saito going to Act Saikyo).
As for your question: I follow a few badminton-related twitter feeds and one of them did post a screen capture of the programme. A few moments of googling later I happened upon the video. ;)

kurako said:
BTW, this is very trivial, but this video features not so much a training session with Saishunkan per se, as a training session for all players in the Kyushu area who would be participating in the AJC, i.e., predominantly Saishunkan players.
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Oh, this is very interesting, because the session in which she plays AY does take place in the Saishunkan training facility on company grounds and the guy seemingly in charge was Ikeda the younger. That would mean the NBA can dictate the private clubs to use their funds and personnel to basically train opponents (as was the case with Gunji, playing Mine in round 1).
 
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Cunning Linguist said:
That would mean the NBA can dictate the private clubs to use their funds and personnel to basically train opponents (as was the case with Gunji, playing Mine in round 1).
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I just checked the AJC entry list, and Gunji was the only non-Saishunkan female player from Kumamoto. That being the case, ​
Gunji's coach may simply be on friendly terms with the Saishunkan coaches, and asked for a special favour in preparation for the AJC. Saishunkan will not see any 1st-year HS pupil as a threat, and, as the team may be seeking to recruit Gunji, this move makes sense.

Incidentally, for her part, Gunji commented that she was disappointed to have come up against Mine in R1. She feels an affinity for the team and had been hoping to avoid a Saishunkan player.
 
Never underestimate this chubby girl. She is one of the most hardworking girls in the Japanese camp.
 
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