Multiple part interview on youtube from BadminLights, they are more compatible than in just badminton
I loved the celebration of the Bronze, they played with a lot of heart and seemed like they were playing freely. Third place at their middle school tournament together in Indonesia and third place at the Olympic Games. Not bad for the leftovers, hope they can continue to get stronger!
They are the only ones from Japan who truly showed up for competition at this Olympic Games. Yes, they lost against Wang/Huang who along with Zheng/Huang are way above the rest of competition anyway but beating Jordan/Oktavianti, Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai, and pushing Wang/Huang to 3 games was outstanding work. Well deserved bronze! The pending breakthrough development for this pair in the future is definitely when Higashino improves her defense and shot quality! Hoping it happens soon!
So happy for them to have scored that bronze medal. Well done and well deserved, especially given the pressure that all Japanese players have been facing. The level of competition in XD is extraodinary these days. I'm currently watching the ongoing final, and bloody hell, there's no shame in having lost against one of those two pairs fighting for gold there. What they are doing is just sensational.
Agreed. Although I do sense that both Wata and Higa are not able to play at their full ability eg. AE2019 due to severe case of nerves which seems to have hit all the JAP players hard. Come medal presentation day, you can sure bet the bronze and gold medalists are the ones beaming while the silver are sorrowful. Dang! ZhengHuang silver! Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
Let's compare: ...I think they are all looking really happy. In the end, an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal is an Olympic medal.
True... But all I remember is LCW's face in all 3 silver medal presentations... Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
So after watching the gold medal match, I think Watanabe/Higashino did a reasonably good job, but they just lost to the gold medal champions. Wang/Huang were just in the zone this Olympics, and even the #1 XD in the world could not beat them. Congrats to Watanabe/Higashino, it's a job well done!
Belated Happy Birthday to Arisa Higashino! BadminLights again has some great videos of the pair, this time after winning the bronze medals. The post-match interview questions about Endo were really sweet too Ganbatte!
Another title! I know that many wants them to change out Arisa but like...When she's on her game they play very well together and they clearly seem to have chemistry together. It's not the end of the world if they're not good enough to always beat the best Chinese pairs, at least I think so.
Yep. Arisa made the difference today and especially yesterday against Wang/Huang. Front court, back court, defence, counter attack. She had it all today. Like in All England 2018. Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
We all need to learn and accept that people in general have certain imperfections. Not sure if it is only a modern day social media thing, but I feel like especially the socalled fans are becoming more and more extreme in a way that they expect their stars to be nothing but perfect. Every minor weakness, even only temporary, is blown up way out of proportion. Just looking at the course of this thread, we've been through a phase in which Yuta was the one responsible for their losses due to its "weak" smash and all of a sudden the pendulum swung the other way. The way I see it, if you combine those two players on court, you'll end up with more than just a simple sum of both abilities. They seem to really complete each other and have a chemistry that can push them to their absolute best if the moment is right. A bit like in a band, where you don't need to be the most brilliant musicians to write and perform great music. Metallica, I'm looking at you. They may not become a pair that dominates the XD world like others, but as long as they can pull off matches like that yesterday, I hope they will be around on the tour for many more years to come.
No one expects perfection all the time, but we like seeing someone live up to their full potential. Higashino had unfortunately been the weaker link in the pairing over the past 2 yrs, especially her defence which is known to all other pairs as they go out of the way to target her. I'm now glad to see that she has improved massively over just the past few months! She's now pulling these blurs of Matrix-like moves with her front court coverage and interceptions, along with incredible dives and squat defence, not to mention counter attacking placements. Kudos to her and Jeremy Gan! Also interestingly noted Jeremy would tell them to attack with only 80% power, block and push as much as possible, and follow up each other at the net. And not to mention Watanabe's speed around the court to cover the gaps and how he makes up for his lack of power smash with his trademark fake smash drop. All in all very dynamic and exciting pair to watch! Sent from my SM-G988W using Tapatalk
@kurako I heard that there was a commotion going on around Arisa being "abused" on social media. I saw some tweets going on but I don't fully understand the context of it. I only know that Yuta and Momota are giving her support via their own social media accounts. Would you be so kind as to shed some light? Thanks.
From what I've gathered, it seems like someone has been repeatedly harassing her, saying that she isn't doing enough to support Watanabe in her partnership with him, and she should not play women's doubles. Momota and Watanabe and others have expressed their support for her, saying to stop with the harassment, while encouraging Higashino to do what she wants. Momota was also very sweet asking if she was alright when he saw her at the stadium. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
I don't really know. Judging by Higashino's Tweet, she has been on the receiving end of continuous criticism by a set number of persons for playing both WD and XD. The idea is that this could potentially damage the performance of Watanabe/Higashino. As she is already viewed as the lesser skilled of the pair, the act of playing in two categories has probably been seen by some as 'inconsiderate' to Watanabe. Higashino made the decision to play in both categories by herself, and feels hurt that she is being criticised this way. Momota's comment: Anyone who is inconsiderate to their partner can never be a world number one. I'm close by, and I know. Keep playing with confidence, and thrill the audience. Watanabe: Stop being so lame. (Then addressing Higashino) Senpai, you're the best. The people who are saying this, haven't been watching the screen. (Back to the perpetrators) Oy, watch the game properly. It's me who is letting her down.
That makes sense. Thanks a lot, as always! Sometimes, twitter translate doesn't quite cut it and I was worried of misinterpretation. I'm only wondering why people would go so far as to bash her for WD. Personally, I thought it was an exciting development that she was playing WD, albeit temporarily.
