And about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, it still is actually quite hard to pick a favorite in WS. Pretty much still anyone's to win, unlike Rio where it really was Marin, the top seed, steamrolling everyone else. Even in that final where she was brought to three games (the only time), it was still her steamrolling herself, scoring both hers and Sindhu's points. If Okuhara had gone past Sindhu at SF, she had a good chance to win at Rio IMO.
imo If Okuhara had that 2015 world SSF finals form, maybe she could have beaten Marin had she reached the finals. Tough to choose between her and Marin, though. Both were in tremendous form (Marin at Rio , Okuhara at SSF 2015)
Perhaps training in Denmark camp? But then for WS, even training against good solid MS players is quite good already. So no need to go to another country for training. Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
That might not be a good idea for WS who does not use strength and prowess as her main weapon Ohori has said that it actually becomes rather detrimental to practice in Tonami (with the MS) since the game style is very different
If someone wants to train, they just need 3-4 people on court like Lee chong wei. I think that traning with men or women is not the problem. The problem is you must know what your weakness is. You must realize it, if you cannot, then ask your coach. Just train what you're weak to improve yourself ^-^ No need to find a really good player to train. I don't think so, if you train with your opponents, they gradually will know your game and your weakness ^-^ then, the percentage of win is slow down day after day. It's not a smart choice
I guess she really knows exactly what she wants and how she achieves these. If there is a better prospect for it, I am sure that she will take it. She has been good at taking the chance. From her BWF profile, her biggest dream is to win gold medal at the Olympics. 2020 Tokyo Olympics is the best chance for it as she will play in her home turf and reach her prime age (25). I am not surprised if she ends up spending all of her energy or pushes far beyond her limits in the Olympics. Looking at her achievements, she has won the titles that really matters. SSF, AE, and WC titles are in her collections. I will never forget how she won the WC last year. Also, she won the Uber Cup with her teammates where she won all of 6 matches. Though she played as WS2 and faced weaker opponents, she easily won these matches as the scoreline suggests. The only match in Uber Cup 2018 where she played as WS1 was when she faced the in-form Michelle Li and she won the match (the scoreline is normal). I guess Olympic gold medal is the only thing she really wants to achieve. For now, I just trust her decision and wait for her further commentary.
This is what she said yesterday from the BWF website. “I got close to her in both games, but I wasn’t patient. She wasn’t as aggressive as she usually is, she played at a slower pace. I tried to play the longer rallies in the second game, but I couldn’t recover from my first game loss. I’m frustrated, but overall I’m satisfied that I could compete the whole year without any recurrence of my past injuries.” I am glad that she can complete the year without any injuries. She struggled in the beginning of the year when she just made a comeback. But, slowly and surely, she earns better result as the time goes on. Though she failed to win WTF yesterday, her overall achievements are great. She reaches 6 finals and won 3 of them. She is also one of the major heroines in Uber Cup, winning all of 6 matches. Based on my calculation in world ranking, she will moved to the second rank. This makes her regain her status back as JPN WS1. Next year, it will be interesting to know how she prepares for the tournaments as she will be unaffiliated from any clubs.
Always love hearing her name annouced over the speaker in Chinese. The last two characters means "hope" in chinese.
Yeah, I think her name fits very well. She can achieve big results when it matters the most. She already has SSF, AE, and WC. Now, she just needs to earn OG gold medal, which is her biggest dream. She has made plans for that, starting by quitting from Unisys next year. I don't know if her plans will work well or not, but I believe that she can do it.
And in Japanese too, of course. On the international circuit, yes, but as far as domestic rankings go, Yamaguchi is still secure as WS No. 1. There is a substantial gap in ranking points, and Yamaguchi cemented her lead by winning the All Japan Championships this year .... where she convincingly defeated Okuhara. Accordingly, Yamaguchi will continue to head the NBA list of WS players sent to any tournaments, including BWF events.
Yeah, I only concern about international circuit. BWF uses only world ranking to determine the order in Thomas Uber Cup. Speaking about AY and NO, I believe that neither of them are superior to each other.
Wow, is this for real? She already makes a move. IIRC, Shoji Sato is also KM's coach at some point. But, I don't really remember.
Sato Shoji is an NTT-East coach; hence his responsibility for Momota. He will be joining the Japanese team in Malaysia and Indonesia as a support coach and, on the staff/players rostrum, is still listed as being employed by the corporation. ??????? Postscript: It is a two-year contract with Taiyo Holdings until the end of 2020 and, yes, Sato Shoji will coach her, whilst retaining his position at NTT-East. This, too, is a two-year contract. Apparently, Sato served as her coach at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Okuhara feels she can learn from him, ... especially in terms of ideas.
I still prefer her to win gold. By the time of Olympics, she will be at a prime age. Furthermore, the Olympics will be held at her country. OG is pretty much the only major title that she misses. That is her best chance to get gold medal. Having said that, it is not easy to get it. Lots of competent WS will be ready for it.
As much as I like TTY and NO, I would prefer Akane Santaguchi to win gold in Tokyo. @kurako Any details mentioned on where she will train? Unless she actively trains with NTT, Shoji Sato will have to do double shifts to satisfy his obligation to both his club and now NO. I also wonder how PJB sees this.
Apparently she will use a facility in Tokyo owned by Hulic Co. Ltd., that is currently being used for para-badminton. Yes, I wonder how Suda, the NTT-East head coach views this arrangement. As I mentioned, it is only a two-year contract with Sato, but these two years are of paramount importance not only for Okuhara, but also for Momota. PJB hasn't commented on the affair. In Okuhara's speech, however, she thanked the NBA for their understanding, ... whatever that might mean. Okuhara seems desperate (almost too desperate) to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She mentioned that the additional commitments that are part of the package of playing for a corporate team, meant that she was increasingly vulnerable to injury. As she doesn't want to risk injury in the period leading up to the Olympics, going professional was the only choice open to her. But this is really quite a gamble. Who is she going to train with? And, as far as coaching is concerned, yes, Sato Shoji will spend time advising her, but he also has other commitments. It is going to be interesting to see how she performs over the next year.
Let's just wait and see for her performance next year. As she has won 3 titles out of 6 finals this year, it is quite a tall order for her to at least repeat that feat. Her biggest dream is to win OG gold medal. She really prepares for it. To me, winning OG gold medal in Tokyo is her best chance to do so. I do agree that her decision for this is quite a gamble. But, sometimes, someone needs to take a risk or gamble to achieve bigger things.
My gut feeling is that Nozomi is putting way too much pressure on herself and it will all end in tears. It's not that becoming pro is necessarily a bad move, but it's clear to see that she is becoming more emotionally invested in it all...and we all know how the mindset of a player matters hugely. Just look at how she lost the recent AJC and broke down, a tournament that she stated she wanted to win, against an Akane who merely wanted to "enjoy herself". I can see history repeating itself again, but would be glad if Nozomi could prove me wrong You can have a look at her recent press conference about turning pro here (no subs):
