I think that Team Japan is in urgent need of exposure to international tournaments before the OG. As it is uncertain as to which tournaments will actually be convened, they need to take advantage of this particular event. You are right. Sorry, I simply skimmed the WS section, not imagining that Ohori would be added at the end of the list. This means that Ohori, albeit a Team B player, is being allowed to train with Team A on this occasion, ... quite a departure from the norm.
German Open canceled. https://bwfworldtour.bwfbadminton.c...60IgArAAYK3ytXPCtD1wkJ6IxPRYPkgi5FKYB46d0m2Zc
Oh dear, oh dear. What is Bird Japan going to do now? Edit: Japan is actually entered for the All England, which means that an opportunity to gain exposure in an international tournament has presented itself. This is quite a surprise, considering how cautious the corporate teams have shown themselves to be. I am still not certain whether we will get to see the team in action, ... but fingers crossed.
Usually the S/J League provides information on retirements as well as newly-employed corporate team players. Unfortunately, this year, as the S/J League tournament was cancelled, it is incredibly difficult to find this information. Currently, as far as I know, some other retirements from top teams include, 1. Yonex: Yonao Kurumi 2. NTT-East: Hoshino Shohei (to be appointed as Doubles Coach), Sato Rei (to be appointed as Team Manager), Baba Yusei (...). Incidentally, NTT-East's Kawaguchi (Head Coach/Director of the Women's Team), Goto (Singles Coach), and Matsuo (Singles Coach) are all being transferred to 'regular' employment within the company, possibly a reflection on the mediocre performance of the women's team over the last couple of years. 3. Hokuto Bank: Uratani Natsumi 4. Tokai Kogyo: The S/J League men's team is losing three of its players. As for new employment contracts: 1. Nihon Unisys: Takahashi Miyu (WD/WS, Aomori Yamada HS), Kayama Miho (WS, Tsukuba U) I will try to send more updates whenever possible.
Didn't see that coming. Isn't Nakai only 2 years older than Yamaguchi? I guess the lack of results is a big factor. So Saishunkan will have Yamaguchi, Gunji, and Uchiyama Chihiro left as single players. Uchiyama has been on the team for a while, but I've yet to see her play.
same age as Ohori, more more younger than S. Takahashi It's a pity, actually she is still better than alot of other Japan local WS.
Given the premise of two teams playing each other, I guess there'll be more videos in the near future. Saishunkan is really stepping up their online presence, which is wonderful to see. This should be (one of) the last appearances of Yukino Nakai, however. I still don't rally understand why she is quitting badminton. She's only 24, physically in her best ever shape and has improved her game a lot over the last two years as well. There must be personal reasons for her retirement.
I think Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo topic will be created soon. Kaneko played better and better when focusing on XD. Playing "smart" like Watanabe's style
Yeah I honestly wrote them off after seeing their draw against Rankireddy and Ponappa seeing that the latter has been on form and winning the likes of GLY/CPS recently. But they surprised me; especially Misaki whose defence held against Rankireddy.
Do you mean Ayaka Takahashi the WD partner of Matsutomo retired? Sayaka is her younger sister who is a WS player, she was meant to play against Iris Wang in first round of AE but last minute the draws got changed - same time as the COVID retesting. I can't find any news about what happened.
Here's the video of her playing against the young kids, you can tell she really loves badminton. Weird for her to quit at this age and her results in 2020 & 2019 weren't that bad, by Japan is a different story maybe. If she made the decision with full honesty to herself then it's fine but it is a shame to lose the drive for playing professionally. Ai Goto and Shizuka Matsuo? Damn blast from the past, I haven't seen those names for many years even before I started playing badminton! The only Japanese women players I was really aware of before this current gen are Eriko Hirose and Kaori Imabeppu. Personally I find it cool in the Japanese system that retired pros can get jobs within big electronics companies that own the badminton clubs.
True! But unfortunately, it only happens at some of the corporations. NTT-East players have this option, but those affiliated to Nihon Unisys or Tonami, for example, are not so lucky.
So what happens for those mentioned? Retire, booted out, byebye, fend for yourself in the cold open world?
As always, you are spot on. Yep, something like that. It is a problem that, notably, Takeshita Riichi (Tonami) was grappling with before he managed to miraculously win the All Japan Open in 2017. This saved him from retirement for a further year and gave him time and more leverage to negotiate his "second career". He is now a coach at Ryukoku University. Sakai Kazumasa (Nihon Unisys) is a similar case in point. No doubt, contracts exchanged between the players and aforementioned corporations spell out this cold reality, and players are aware of what to expect. But particularly for female players, who are not ranked in the BWF top 20 or maybe 50, employment at NTT-East, Hiroshima Gas, or the various banks that support corporate teams, will look that much more attractive. ... Especially in the current environment.
