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Get ready to welcome Heroes and Heroines!
Kanta TSUNEYAMA and Natsuki NIDAIRA to appear
2016 World Junior Champion also enters this competition
Tomorrow on 19th of September, the Daihatsu YONEX Japan Open will begin. On the 19th Tuesday when qualifying matches are to be held, there are numerous candidates, domestic as well as foreign to fight for the chance to become heroes and heroines of this tournament. All attention is to the fights full of dreams of the players who may become the Olympic gold medalist in the future.
⦿ Men's Singles
Duel between TSUNEYAMA VS NISHIMOTO is expected to become quite a sight
Runner-up at Indonesia Open, Sakai is to compete as well
Currently, men's singles in Japan don't have an absolute champion and a fierce battle over that title is unfolding. Two people, Kanta TSUNEYAMA (Tonami Transportation) and Kenta NISHIMOTO (Tonami Transportation), who are at the center of this battle, are likely to face each other in the fierce battle tomorrow. If this happens, then it will become one of the most interesting games of tomorrow.
Currently, TSUNEYAMA's world ranking is 34th, highest in Japan. In Canada open held in July this year, he has won in the finals over just returned this spring Kento MOMOTA (NTT East Japan). "It was a result that gave me confidence," says TSUNEYAMA and now he began to see higher goals for himself. He fights solid rally with persistence.
On the other hand, NISHIMOTO, with his exhilarating attack power as a weapon, became Japan champion at All Japan Badminton Championship last year. His world ranking is the 61st, but he reached to the quarterfinals at the Korean Open which had been held until 17th September, and his condition is getting upwards. As a Japan Champion, he would absolutely not want to lose the game with TSUNEYAMA.
In addition to this, Kazumasa SAKAI (Nihon Unisys) runner-up in Indonesia Open and Takuma UEDA (Nihon Unisys) 2nd in Japan ranking are also competing from Japan.
⦿ Women's singles
Don't miss MINE VS NIDAIRA game
Haruko SUZUKI is to challenge former Asia's 2nd place
At women's singles qualifying, from Japan Ayumi MINE（Saishunkan）、Natsuki NIDAIRA（Tonami Transportation）、Haruko SUZUKI（Yonex） are to compete.
Keep an eye at the second round of qualifying games. If both break through the first game, MINE and NIDAIRA will face each other. When considering the age of MINE, 25 years old, all would want to see immediate results for her step-up. For NIDAIRA, a 19-year-old who won the last year's inter-high, this is a good place to show her presence in order to enter Japan national team in the future.
MINE is in 57th, NIDAIRA is in 56th and the world rankings, you can see their ranking is very close and in equilibrium, and as with men 's singles, there is no doubt that the game will turn into an ego battle.
It is also likely that SUZUKI 's first qualifying round will be interesting. She is to fight against experienced YIP Pui Yin (Hong Kong), who was runner-up in the 2006 Asian Games. Both are the type of players who like to win, so we will see who's will to win is stronger.
⦿ Men's doubles
China pair who won the world junior title
Will they break through qualifying games and rise up high?
In the men 's doubles qualifying, a pair who won the race last year at the so-called gateway to the world - world junior championship will compete.
China's HAN Chengkai / ZHOU Haodong are ranked 133rd in the world. Both were born in 1998 and 19 years old and started participating in senior international competitions from this year. At the Korean Open in the previous week, after winning in qualifying games, they lost in the first round. However, they fought well with gaining 19 points in two games against a pair with former Olympic gold medalist Hendra SETIAWAN.
I think that badminton fans should see for sure their first-time game in Japan as Chinese pair is pretty well known as a future ace candidate in China.
From Japan, Tatsuya WATANABE / Kouhei GONDOU (Tonami Transportation) of Japan national team B, Hiroki OKAMURA (Nihon Unisys) / Masayuki ONODERA (Waseda Univ.), runner-ups in Inter-high last year and longtime players Hirokatsu HASHIMOTO (Fukui Prefectural Minami Special Support School) / Hiroyuki SAEKI (Fukui Prefecture Sports Association) aim to qualify.
⦿ Women's doubles
Eight pairs from Japan to participate in qualifying games
Stop the 2011th and 2013th champions!
Women's doubles is the event that Japan is the strongest in the world, four Japanese pairs are ranked within the world ranking top 10. To catch up with such superiors, eight pairs from Japan have entered the qualifying games, mostly those of the next generation players. They are all the players who aim for success in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
It is Chinese pairs that seem to stop in front of such Japanese players. Usually BAO Yixin／YU Xiaohan（WR 13th）and TANG Jinhua／HUANG Yaqiong（WR 32th）are standard pair to play with but at this competition, they decided to discard their original pairs and participate.
Hereby, there is very strong pair made with BAO Yixin who won the 11th tournament and TANG Jinhua who won the 13th tournament. This pair will face Asumi KUGO／Megumi YOKOYAMA（THE SAN-IN GODO BANK） at first round and will face Naru SHINOYA ／Chisato HOSHI（Nihon Unisys）at second round.
At the other side of tournament, there is another China pair HUANG Kaixiang／YU Xiaohan. There are also Yui SUIZU／（Yanaishoko High School, Senior Year）／Moe YAMAGUCHI（Nihon Wellness High School, Senior Year ） pair and Aoi MATSUDA／Akane ARAKI（Gifu Tricky Panders）pair are participating.
How would young athletes play against tough enemies? The highlight of the female doubles is expected there.
⦿ Mixed doubles
Japanese players and MAINAKY siblings are also cheered
5 experienced pairs mainly from club teams will participate in the competition. Many of those players are based at different locations, but they get together for competitions and fight together combining the strengths cultivated separately.
It is a group with 2 pairs from China that seems to be an interesting confrontation. HAN Chengkai and ZHOU Haodong who won the title of 2016 World Junior Champion as a pair will team up with woman players for this mixed double. The pairs will face each other in the second qualifying round. Somewhat advantageous is HAN Chengkai to partner with DU Yue Champion of World Junior Mixed Doubles in 2016.
Also, to a true badminton fan we would recommend to see a game where Yehezkiel Fritz MAINAKY / Lyanny Alessandra MAINAKY (Indonesia) will be fighting in the first qualifying round with Kouhei GONDOU / Wakana Nagahara (Tonami Transportio / The Hokuto Bank) from Japan.
MAINAKY Siblings are children of the Japanese national team coach Rionny MAINAKY. Speaking of Rionny MAINAKY coach, his brother Rexy MAINAKY is known for winning gold in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and many other brothers were active in the world as well.
Yehezkiel & Lyanny are sharing the DNA of such an excellent badminton family. However, they lived in Japan for a long time, and fluent in Japanese. In other words, they have good points in them from Indonesia and Japan as well. Please support two of them who are aiming for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
