Viktor play in completely different mode and angle now, always looking for ways to improve his game ... while Japan is still doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Really must question the coaching. Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk
Embarrassing, yes, but he has not been competing recently. I think that it may be an injury. ----- Onto brighter (?) news: Following the Ranking Circuit, the following Bird Japan team changes have been announced: 1. (MS) Naraoka: B Team → A Team 2. (WS) Ohori: B Team → A Team 3. (WD) Otake/Takahashi: → B Team ... I don't think that the above will have much of an impact. Ohori, in particular, looks unlikely to rise in the rankings. And why weren't Midorikawa/Saito promoted to Team A? They seem to have way more potential than Kaneko/Matsutomo.
The Akita Masters has been cancelled, the decision apparently based on the difficulties inherent in admitting players from abroad. (This seems to be possible for the World Championships and Japan Open, ..but not for the Akita Masters. )
Did Midorikawa/Saito do something to rub the NBA in the wrong way? Is it because Midorikawa is still in college? How is it that the winners of both the AJC and the Ranking Circuit not promoted? And all of these tournament cancelations are really doing the new and younger Team B players a lot of damage. They're missing out on precious ranking points from participating in home tournaments where it's easier to get into the draw.
He has been nursing a wrist injury since at least German Open. You can see him icing his wrist after one of his matches during the Thomas Cup.
Then it's understandable. Viktor is definitely practicing hard and analysing systematically, looking for ways to never experience defeat again. Good players are never stagnant or satisfied. Working hard to iron out weak points and sharpening their weapons. Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk
was there a livestream for バドミントン情報 SMASH and NET.TV today for Channel A? I only see channel B. Send me the link if there was one
Five Bird Japan players have tested positive for COVID-19. There is a possibility that the entire team may have to withdraw from the Malaysia Open.
Hopefully they won't get too ill with symptoms. Other players from different countries are getting ill and recovering quickly. It's still two months away from the world championships. Wonder if they can recover fully and be ready within 8 weeks.
Just watch Shun Saito U19 Croatia junior. He is promising. Good powerful back hand and good smashes from the back court. Sent from my XQ-BT52 using Tapatalk
Saito is being touted as a next-generation player. He is top in the domestic HS scene and, in the last couple of weeks, won the Croatia and Bulgaria juniors in succession. The same applies to Akechi Hina in WS; she is another name to watch out for.
Thank you for this information! Here are the matches of June 19, we can see a lot of Japanese players: You can find other matches, other days by searching for "Croatia VALAMAR Junior Open 2022"
Japan's junior team had very successful outings in Croatia and Bulgaria! Some happy news, considering all the comments regarding the nurturing of future generations lately. As for MS, the trio from Futaba Mirai (Saito Shun, Iwano Koya, and Tanioka Daigo) are promising, with Saito being the strongest right now. Saito is also at a good height for MS. Iwano and Tanioka only lost to Saito in the Croatia and Bulgaria junior tournaments. Tanioka is a year younger than the other two so chances are he'll take over the top junior spot once Saito moves on to senior level. Tanioka lost to Iwano in the SF in Bulgaria, but he had beaten Iwano before during the recent prefectural qualification, and took the second and last MS spot to the high school championship in spring from Iwano. I'm looking forward to how these three will grow at the senior level. I have expectations for Saito and Tanioka. Iwano, I feel, might be a bit too short to be successful in MS. He might find more success in MD. EDIT: I forgot to mention that Iwano took Watanabe Koki to 3 games at the recent Ranking Circuit. Not too shabby for a second year high schooler!
I think Shun Saito is quite good,not sure about the other two. Is there a reason he is not highly ranked on the World Junior Ranking though? I'm just curious, I didn't see any Chinese players either so I'm wondering if some countries just don't care about it anymore. It's hard to gauge his true level because I think a lot of the top junior players were playing in another tournament taking place at the same time. But I don't know if those are really the "top" players because if some countries don't really care about junior rankings then it's also hard to see who is really at the top. I guess it will be easier to tell after the World Junior Championships take place, if he is taking part. Sent from my SM-A307GN using Tapatalk
