No, unfortunately not. I don't think it is an injury, though. Neither do I believe that there is any particular understanding between Okuhara and Yamaguchi with respect to 'sharing tournaments'. This is the Olympic race; they (and their corporate team/sponsor) will not want to take any chances, not with Ohori also pushing to move up the rankings. I am a little concerned about Saishunkan on the whole. Shida/Matsuyama haven't participated in the last couple of tournaments that they were entered for, either. I was surprised with the choice, too. The only thing that comes to mind is that the third MD pair is not going to be utilised anyway, and that Hoki/Kobayashi comprise a slightly better XD back-up (Hoki/Nagahara = Rank 25).
Actually Inoue/Kaneko and Ohori can be on the team, there are 3 empty slots for the limit of a team. So I don't think Hoki/Kobayashi was chosen by "playing mixed double." Recently Hoki/Kobayashi have beated Zhang Nan/Liu Cheng and Han/Zhou in Tong Yun Kai cup, that can be a reward for their effort.
I didn't hear any bad news about Saishunkan. Do you know anything? on Insta, their players seem happy. Shida/Matsuyama & Mine will also take part in Australia Open with Coach Ikeda. I'm just worried about Akane, I hope she's fine. She hasn't had enough rest for a long time. Last month, 4 tournaments, has drained her energy & concentration.
Shida/Matsuyama also featured in the draw of the New Zealand Open, ... but ended up not participating. And, although they entered themselves for the Japan Ranking Circuit (scheduled in late May), for some unknown reason they are not listed amongst the seeds or in the draw. As the entire National B team takes part in the Ranking Circuit; this particular absence is worrying. I hope the problem is limited to Shida/Matsuyama, and doesn't include Saishunkan as a whole. I know, but do you really think that Japan will bother fielding its third MD pair? There could, I suppose, be a weird and wonderful strategy that mixes the current MD combinations, like Sonoda/Watanabe in the Thomas Cup?!
@fanyy @kurako PJB probably prioritizes getting Fukuhiro on track over concerns about what Imai did to some B-team youngsters, who will only enter the A team after his tenure (if at all). Could be injury, who knows. Shida was taped from head to toe (including playing arm) in the Swiss Open final, after which they missed out on Orleans and Akita Masters. Ranking Circuit absence could be related to their Australian Open "big push" (first round vs Dong/Feng, second round vs Nagamatsu ) that starts a few days later. Also, they won it the past two years, has done f... all for their careers.
I agree with this. It is only PJB this time, but could you ever imagine Zeniya and Imai in attendance together Incidentally, in the wake of the Arbitration Court's judgement, Zeniya has moved to have the NBA Ethics Committee clarify its regulations on misconduct. As the Akita Masters won't take place until August, I take it that you are referring to the Osaka IC. Yeah, it could be an injury, but NOBODY misses the Ranking Circuit in preference of a BTW 300 tournament!! Most prominent B-Team players, such as Igarashi, Watanabe K., Koga/Saito, Okamura/Onodera, Kaneko/Kubota, Mine, and Kawakami (even A-teamers, such as Sakai, and Inoue/Kaneko) are listed on the draws for both tournaments. The Ranking Circuit is not to be taken lightly; it influences domestic standings, and the NBA pays close attention to the results.
My assumption here was correct. Badminton Spirit has just published an article (https://www.badspi.jp/201905150700/) which clearly spells out that Hoki/Nagahara are intended to serve as a back up for Watanabe/Higashino. (This is even more important now, given the uncertainty over Higashino's ankle.)
Potato, potahto! I can see a reason for anybody you mentioned to be there (Mine-->Saishunkan, as you know), but not Shidamatsu. They have won the thing in the past two years and are one of only two B team doubles as is. There's no threat from lower ranked pairs and there certainly is no chance of making the A team either. Why bother? Then again, maybe there's something else going on. Maybe they've been scolded so hard by Kei Nakajima, they've decided to call it quits. Look at his reaction here (1:1, ca. 0:49sek in. 3:33 is nice as well): You and me both, Kei. You and me both.
Wow, at 1:12 Nishimoto managed to score his first smash winner of the year. Against a 5ft1 woman, but still. Also, how cute is mama Mayu playing with the boys?
It's clearly that coaches don't want Momota's smash. Coaches want 100% Momota's strength for the match and Nishimoto has to smash consecutively at the back line
order of play today : in your opinion, is this safe enough? seeing from yesterday's match, many top players were overwhelmed in dealing with non-superior players.
