Anyone knows why this pair kept on withdrawing? I've seen them withdrawing from the International tournaments in the past months and then here as well. Is someone injured in the pair?
R2 action at the AJC (cont'd): MS: The scoreline of the match between Tonami team-mates Shimono and Hatano (both Team B) was surprisingly one-sided. Shimono dominated, and is set to meet Onodera Yusuke in the QF. Conversely, this defeat may prove costly for Hatano, who can be expected to lose his place on Team B. The showdown between Takahashi Koo and high schooler Takei Riki proved much closer, with Takahashi prevailing in the final game with a score of 21-19. If Takahashi continues with this winning streak tomorrow, then a national team place may await him. WS: As expected, Okuhara beat university student, Kurihara Akari, but she required three games to do so. Could this be a warning bell? In the second quarter, hats off once again to the redoubtable Sato Sayaka (formerly Team A), who took down current Team B player, Kawakami Saena. Kawakami's place on the national team, too, is now endangered. Teenager Gunji Riko won the Team B match-up against Nidaira Natsuki, and will move on to meet a more dangerous opponent in the form of Team A player, Takahashi Asuka. MD: Team B pairs Inoue/Mitsuhashi (Unisys) and Kaneko/Kubota (Tonami) had contrasting fortunes, with the former proceeding to the QF. Erstwhile Team B pair Takano/Tamate (Hitachi Engineering) also won, and will be hoping to join their team-mates, Takeuchi/Matsui, on the national team. WD: Both of the scratch pairs, Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi <Bluvic>) and Sakuramoto (Yonex)/Suzuki (NTT-East) march on to the QF. And the last active high schoolers can be found in this category. Tomorrow, Osawa/Ishikawa (Aomori Yamada HS) will take on Hobara/Miyaura (Yonex). XD: With Nishikawa/Ozaki off the radar, this category is Midorikawa/Saito's to lose.
Select matches of December 27 (R2) are available at . Watch out for Inoue/Mitsuhashi, Okuhara, Fukushima/Sugimura, Midorikawa/Saito, Gunji, Takahashi Asuka, and more. (...But no MS. )
The line-up of QF matches on December 28 is as follows: MS: 1. Takahashi Koo (Tonami) vs Omoto Shota (Hitachi Engineering) 2. Takeuchi Hiroki (Marusugi) vs Naraoka Kodai (IMG) 3. Shimono Hashiru (Tonami) vs Onodera Yusuke (Unisys) 4. Koga Minoru (NTT-East) vs Tanaka Yushi (Nihon U.) WS: 1. Okuhara Nozomi (Taiyo Holdings) vs Oie Natsuki (NTT-East) 2. Mizui Hirari (NTT-East) vs Suzuki Haruko (Marusugi) 3. Gunji Riko (Saishunkan) vs Takahashi Asuka (Yonex) 4. Sato Sayaka (Yonex) vs Ikeuchi Moe (77 Bank) MD: 1. Takei Y./Endo A. (Meiji U.) vs Nishida/Mezaki (Tonami) 2. Honda/Ozeki (Daido Steel) vs Inoue/Mitsuhashi (Unisys) 3. Takeuchi (Marusugi)/Ogawa (Mie Amateur Sports Association) vs Ogata/Shibata (NTT-East) 4. Takano/Tamate (Hitachi Engineering) vs Midorikawa/Machida (Waseda U.) WD: 1. Hobara/Miyaura (Yonex) vs Osawa/Ishikawa (Aomori Yamada HS) 2. Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi) vs Shimizu (Showa Denko)/Honda (Hokkaido Barbarians R.S.C. ) 3. Hirokami/Kato (Saishunkan) vs Sakuramoto (Yonex)/Suzuki (NTT-East) 4. Ono/Fukumoto (Saishunkan) vs Otake/Takahashi (Unisys) XD: 1. Mikami (Mitsubishi Motors)/Ishizawa (PLENTY GLOBAL LINX) vs Ichikawa (JTEKT)/Kato (ACT SAIKYO) 2. Urai (Marusugi)/Shimizu (Showa Denko) vs Gondo (JTEKT)/Shigeta (ACT SAIKYO) 3. Yamada (Nippon Sport Science U.)/Ikeuchi (77 Bank) vs Midorikawa (Waseda U.)/Saito (ACT SAIKYO) 4. Nihei/Asakura (NTT-East) vs Arai (Kanazawa Gakuin Club)/Ishibashi (Showa Denko)
Kurihara Akari surprisingly gave Okuhara quite a fight. I wonder if Okuhara was able to practice enough after recovering from injuries or she is still not comfortable enough to go all out for a period of time. But Kurihara played quite well i must say. Asuka Takahashi is as good as i expected. For WS category, it is quite a tough time to break in and meet the standards demanded in international matches. But she has got to start somewhere and i am glad to see her showing up with courage. Didn't get the chance to see Shimono play. For MS, i have kept my eyes on Shimono, Koga Minoru and Kodai Naraoka. But they have still a lot of work to do to raise up their levels. Right now, i don't see how any of them can even pass through Nishimoto or Tsuneyama. And i am always frustrated with Nishimoto and Tsuneyama. And it isn't because they are not good. It is the opposite. They are good but they don't seems to know how to make good use of their strengths and work around their weaknesses. If they are not good i wouldn't need to feel frustrated. They should spent many hours watching videos of their own matches .. and take mental notes on what they did when they won the rallys .. when they started to lose... These 2 have troubled many top players (Momota, Lee Chong Wei, VA, CTC, JC, ...) but unfortunately, they always failed to go all the way and convert their abilities to trouble top players into something more.
Having watched Takei's first round match, I can definitely see why the NBA gave him the wild card. This was my first time seeing him play, but I think he definitely has the potential to go far. He was mixing up his shots very well, but what stood out for me was the footwork: very smooth and efficient, with good upper body balance, reminiscent of Momota's footwork. NBA, please promote him to Team B!
December 28, AJC QF: MS: 20-year-old Takahashi Koo (Tonami) won the battle for what will probably be a place on Team B. But he had to come from behind in G3 against former Team B Player, Omoto Shota (Hitachi Engineering), who fought the full distance: Naraoka Kodai (IMG), in his bid for a SF berth, faced less resistance from Takeuchi Hiroki (Marusugi), winning in straight sets.
Riko Gunjji , an attacking player can be a good sparing partner for Asuka Takahashi. Will be good if A Takahashi can have 1 good attacking player and 1 good defensive player as sparing partners. AT, herself attacks and defense is good but sometimes she makes the mistake of spending a bit of time to look at the results of her own shots when the rally is not yet over instead of quickly returning to the court center after a shot is executed. In international matches, few seconds lost can be costly. This is a normal mistake ... her shots are crisp and fast to reach intended destination. There is a temptation to expect such shots to be winner shots ( and could well be ..) With the help of good coaches, she will learn to overcome this. Good to see that Yonex not only produces good quality rackets but also good player like Asuka Takahashi. Hope Yonex can invest on her because she appears to be a fast learner.
AJC QF Results (December 28): MS: 1. Takahashi Koo (Tonami) 14-21, 21-18, 21-19 Omoto Shota (Hitachi Engineering) 2. Takeuchi Hiroki (Marusugi) 15-21, 11-21 Naraoka Kodai (IMG) 3. Shimono Hashiru (Tonami) 21-14, 23-21 Onodera Yusuke (Unisys) 4. Koga Minoru (NTT-East) 18-21, 21-17, 10-21 Tanaka Yushi (Nihon U.) WS: 1. Okuhara Nozomi (Taiyo Holdings) 21-8, 21-19 Oie Natsuki (NTT-East) 2. Mizui Hirari (NTT-East) 21-18, 7-21, 21-15 Suzuki Haruko (Marusugi) 3. Gunji Riko (Saishunkan) 17-21, 19-21 Takahashi Asuka (Yonex) 4. Sato Sayaka (Yonex) 21-15, 21-18 Ikeuchi Moe (77 Bank) MD: 1. Takei Y./Endo A. (Meiji U.) 18-21, 21-11, 21-17 Nishida/Mezaki (Tonami) 2. Honda/Ozeki (Daido Steel) 13-21, 22-20, 18-21 Inoue/Mitsuhashi (Unisys) 3. Takeuchi (Marusugi)/Ogawa (Mie Amateur Sports Association) 21-14, 8-21, 18-21 Ogata/Shibata (NTT-East) 4. Takano/Tamate (Hitachi Engineering) 21-13, 21-10 Midorikawa/Machida (Waseda U.) WD: 1. Hobara/Miyaura (Yonex) 21-19, 21-18 Osawa/Ishikawa (Aomori Yamada HS) 2. Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi) 21-19, 21-18 Shimizu (Showa Denko)/Honda (Hokkaido Barbarians R.S.C. ) 3. Hirokami/Kato (Saishunkan) 14-21, 18-21 Sakuramoto (Yonex)/Suzuki (NTT-East) 4. Ono/Fukumoto (Saishunkan) 22-24, 21-17, 21-7 Otake/Takahashi (Unisys) XD: 1. Mikami (Mitsubishi Motors)/Ishizawa (PLENTY GLOBAL LINX) 10-21, 21-17, 13-21 Ichikawa (JTEKT)/Kato (ACT SAIKYO) 2. Urai (Marusugi)/Shimizu (Showa Denko) 21-14, 21-19 Gondo (JTEKT)/Shigeta (ACT SAIKYO) 3. Yamada (Nippon Sport Science U.)/Ikeuchi (77 Bank) 18-21, 15-21 Midorikawa (Waseda U.)/Saito (ACT SAIKYO) 4. Nihei/Asakura (NTT-East) 12-21, 22-20, 21-12 Arai (Kanazawa Gakuin Club)/Ishibashi (Showa Denko)
This is true. At the same time, however, it needs to be said that the NBA is not doing enough to invest in these players. Naraoka was removed from the reserve list of the Bali tournaments far too early. Had he remained, he would have been assured of the chance to compete, ... and he could have conceivably done better than his rival, Watanabe Koki. Team B players are just not being given the opportunity to compete abroad to hone their skills. Instead, apart from a few fairly meaningless National B Team training camps, they are left to their own devices in their corporate/university teams. And Naraoka doesn't even have a team to practise with.
The SF line-up (December 29) is as follows: MS: 1. Tanaka Yushi (Nihon U.) vs Shimono Hashiru (Tonami) 2. Takahashi Koo (Tonami) vs Naraoka Kodai (IMG) WS: 1. Okuhara Nozomi (Taiyo Holdings) vs Sato Sayaka (Yonex) 2. Mizui Hirari (NTT-East) vs Takahashi Asuka (Yonex) MD: 1. Takano/Tamate (Hitachi Engineering) vs Takei Y./Endo A. (Meiji U.) 2. Ogata/Shibata (NTT-East) vs Inoue/Mitsuhashi (Unisys) WD: 1. Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi) vs Hobara/Miyaura (Yonex) 2. Sakuramoto (Yonex)/Suzuki (NTT-East) vs Ono/Fukumoto (Saishunkan) XD: 1. Ichikawa (JTEKT)/Kato (ACT SAIKYO) vs Nihei/Asakura (NTT-East) 2. Urai (Marusugi)/Shimizu (Showa Denko) vs Midorikawa (Waseda U.)/Saito (ACT SAIKYO) ----- Tonami looks to have plenty of talent in the MS category. ACT SAIKYO, too, is currently buffing up its women's team, and has two players remaining in mixed doubles. By contrast, Unisys, a badminton power-house in Japan, only has Inoue/Mitsuhashi left standing, which is worrying from the viewpoint of 'player development'. Onto future prospects: MS: If Naraoka wins the tournament, the NBA will face a dilemma vis-a-vis the composition of Team A. Will he be promoted to Team A? And if so, who will he replace? Watanabe Koki? Or Nishimoto Kenta? As for Team B; Takahashi Koo will probably be offered Hatano Riku's place, ... but what about the rest? Will Onodera be kept on, or replaced by Omoto? And what if Watanabe Koki is demoted? There are only six slots. WS: Okuhara apparently underwent an operation for her sprain (?!) in October, which could well be affecting her play in this tournament. She is still favoured to win, although the very physical left-hander, Sato Sayaka, is never a push-over, and Takahashi Asuka is looking in good form. I would be surprised if Mizui manages to eke out a win tomorrow. But whatever the case, her continued place on Team B looks assured. The same cannot, however, be said for Kawakami Saena or Nidaira Natsuki. MD: Takei/Endo are the last university student pair remaining, but I suspect that Takano/Tamate are simply too strong. The latter should be considered strong candidates for the championship. It is difficult to imagine that Kaneko/Kubota will keep their berth in Team B. As Inoue/Mitsuhashi are already on the national team, one of the remaining three pairs will seize it. WD: As Fukushima/Sugimura and Sakuramoto/Suzuki are not regular pairs, it is difficult to predict what kind of team selection will be made in this category. Hoshi/Matsuda and Iwanaga/Nakanishi are currently vying for a place on Team A, which means that, whatever tomorrow's outcome, Hobara/Miyaura and Ono/Fukumoto may make it onto the B Team. I am not at all sure about Sakuramoto's fate. XD: The messiest of categories. As Yamashita/Shinoya have now moved up to No. 42 in the world rankings, they may be offered a place on Team A. With regard to the rest: Midorikawa/Saito will remain in Team B, but there could well be a overhaul as far as the other current Team B members are concerned. ----- Incidentally, Japan will not be sending its players to any of the international tournaments taking place in January 2022. This is a real shame for Team B; the players could have benefitted from the competitions taking place in Estonia and Sweden.
Isn't this a pretty good dilemma to have? The MS department can't keep relying on Momota for representation from QF and beyond forever. PJB took Naraoka to the Thomas Cup and fielded him over Watanabe Koki, so if he can manage to pull off a win this year, it might be all the excuses the coaching team needs to promote him to Team A. I am beginning to think that Kaneko/Kubota's WJC win was a fluke. I can't imagine how they managed to win the junior title over Chinese and Indonesian pairs with their terrible defense. They have failed to get past R2 at the AJC in all their attempts, including this year. They need to start earning their keep rather than be allowed to live off the dividends from the WJC title. If I'm not mistaken, there will be 4 spots for XD on Team A next year. Midorikawa/Saito should be able to get that last spot. Nishikawa/Ozaki will probably remain on Team B. Japan is really starting to step up her XD game.
Takahashi will get even better sparring partners than Gunji once her spot on Team A is solidified. It's only a matter of time before she replaces Ohori completely.
AJC SF Results (December 29): MS: 1. In the battle of the 20-year-olds, Takahashi Koo's surprising run came to an end at the hands of Naraoka Kodai, the latter dominating in two easy games (21-10, 21-11). It was a good tournament for Takahashi, though, who will probably be rewarded with a place on Team B. 2. Shimono's attempt at the title was halted at the SF stage by fellow B-teamer Tanaka Yushi (Nihon U.) (15-21, 16-21). The latter has now gone one better than last year's SF finish; ... needless to add, the competition is not quite as stiff as was the case in 2020, though. Tonami is out of the tournament. WD: 1. Somewhat disappointingly, Fukushima/Sugimura (Marusugi) retired in G2 against Yonex's Hobara/Miyaura (14-21, 2-5). I hope it is nothing serious. 2. Fellow A-teamer, Sakuramoto, in contrast, came through with her NTT-East partner, Suzuki Hinata. Saishunkan's Ono/Fukumoto fell in straight games (16-21, 18-21). Saishunkan, too, is now out of the competition.
Wonderful updates kurako!!! I wish I could watch all. Whenever I read your narration I feel like reading an epic manga.
