Sakai Kazumasa will not only be missing the World Championships, he has also been dropped from the delegation to be sent to the Asian Games. His replacement is Takeshita Riichi, ... which is not altogether reassuring. The revised list of players is available at https://www.badminton.or.jp/news/2018/20180819_asia.pdf <Japanese>.
Just like with MS after Momota, the Japanese WS players below Okuhara/Yamaguchi and currently Takahashi really give no cause for optimism, especially the youngsters. MM seems past it, AO stagnates on a mediocre level and the young ones (Asuka Takahashi, Shiori Saito, Moto Hayashi) don't seem to have the quality. Saena Kawakami is somewhat puzzling, she was #15 in the world but has plummeted to #45 now and is playing the badminton to match.
Yamaguchi, at 21, is still a youngster. What do you think the prospects for HS pupil Mizui Hirari are? And which corporate team will she choose after graduation? Apparently her mother, Mizui Hisako, who represented Japan in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, used to work for NTT-East, but now advises at Yonex. I wonder if this will impact her daughter's decision.
I saw her again at the Asia Youth Championships (her match against Chaiwan and another one) and -again- I liked her quite a bit, she seems very complete. Your info is a total bummer, tbh. I really had hoped to see her at Kumamoto to spar with AY, but the family connection suggests another patch for her. Hokuto Bank could use another WS (SK struggling, Yuri Nakamura not good enough) as well, and I somehow fear Imai's Raiders. They seem ambitious enough and don't have a single good WS. Any news on that one, by the way? Why is that scoundrel not behind bars, yet? I recently read some news on a Japanese Cult leader being executed, but unfortunately it was someone entirely different.
Imai... There were a couple of articles published on June 19, in which Zeniya Kinji alluded to the fact that Imai and his lawyer would be called to a hearing in July, convened by the NBA's Ethics Committee (https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2018/06/19/0011368162.shtml). The Kumamoto Badminton Association apparently underwent a hearing in June. Since then, no news. Due to the adverse influence that this incident may have on the players concerned, Zeniya stated that he wanted to conclude the case as soon as possible. Simultaneously, as the incident may lead to a criminal investigation, he mentioned the need for a cautious hearing. This being Japan, the police/prosecution are no doubt waiting for the NBA to act first. I personally do not expect any progress until after the Asian Games, or even the Japan Open.
they are nowhere near the end of their road. i suppose it feels like the two of them have been around for a long time because you always see them at the top, but, the status quo will continue. there doesn't seem to be any potential world beaters in japan's ws pipeline at the moment. with okuhara only 23 & yamaguchi only 21(!) they have many years ahead of them. the main hazard for singles players is over-training. if balanced correctly okuhara & yamaguchi will continue to win @ the highest level tournaments. the ?'n is what happens after 2020. at 25 does okuhara retire? maybe not right away, but she's not sticking around for paris 2024 when she's 29. yamaguchi, on the other hand, will likely play through to 2024 provided she is still a consistent contender. the above scenario makes the most sense to me.
They don't have to worry too much with 3 pairs of WD in the top 10 dominating the category. This looks like a pretty solid chance for gold at Tokyo OG, especially after that JAP vs JAP WC final thriller match yesterday that went down to the wire. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Okuhara and Yamaguchi unfortunately are just a few inches too short for proper court coverage and reach. Their style is always frantic scrambling despite their never say die attitude. End result is that injuries will creep in and eventually catch up with them as they age. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Good WD match last night but pretty monotonic. Like MF used to say about this, it's either a full power smash on attack or a dropshot. They're winning the world stage mainly because of fitness. But hey, there's no concern if they're on top anyway. Congrats to JAP in general for owning WD these championships... feel bad for Yuki though
Her speed and shot quality is not comparable to Okuhara or Yamaguchi. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
This. They have a physical mismatch against almost anybody (even TTY can play steeper angles and has bigger reach), but against Sindhu it's particularly glaring. I would be extremely interested to see statistics in terms of ground covered/steps taken. They have to constantly play close to the line to even make Sindhu move and get chased around court in the meantime by relatively risk free shots from their opponent. This means full on sprint situations, changes of directions and, inevitably, higher risk of injury. Okuhara already has had quite a few, Yamaguchi surely is due one. Her weight and the fact that she plays so many matches (most singles matches of all players in 2017) aren't helping her cause. I have a nagging feeling she might be overworked both mentally and physically soon. But then again, I'm a dedicated pessimist, I even thought SYQ would take the final. We talked about Ohori a bit a few pages back, so I won't go into it again, but if you want to see what her problem is, watch how she loses her match to GJW at the World Championships after being up 17-13.
It dawned on me that only Misaki and Ayaka returned home medal-less. Among WD pairs Wonder why it's still her issue.. there was a whole Japanese TV feature on her where she was training with an all-men team, apparently to improve her physique. This was a year or so ago.
How can someone like Asuka Takahashi still be part of National Team? She didn't even win a single intl. title, nor even national title, nor even junior title. They're too much potential WS outside, called them Natsuki Oie (Bronze WJC 2016), Araki Moe (Bronze WJC 2015).
She and Natsuki Nidaira are part of the team, even though it's a men's team (serial champions Tonami): http://www.tonami-badminton.jp/ Her dad has taken a coaching job there, and she (and Nidarai) wanted to continue working with him after high school. @kurako mentioned she also left her former team NTT East in order to not be embroiled in the Tago/Momota scandal. @vinnino Generally speaking, national team spots are earned, not given. As you can see in the internal ranking, Oie is way down at #27. Among others behind 3 NTT team mates, one of which is a doubles player: http://www.badminton.or.jp/ranking/2018/ranking20180701ws.pdf She simply isn't very good. Asuka Takashi is younger, ranked 13 places higher and a much better prospect overall.
