News
Second round of the match
September 21 (Thu)
Enjoy the game by Olympics Gold medalist with after 5 tickets
LIN Dan＆Carolina MARIN to play
On September 21st (Thursday) a second round will be held to determine the best 8. As players getting more used to the venue, at the same time the opponents narrow down to more and more skilled players making the stage tenser each time. Thursday is the day we get to witness a number of the greatest matches each year.
However, even though you want to see such game, for many people it is not easy to visit the venue during the daytime on weekdays. For those of you, "After 5 tickets" that you can enter at 1,000 yen after 17 o'clock, will be on sale for 21st as well.
Big stars such as LIN Dan (China) and Carolina MARIN (Spain) will be playing after 5. Why don't you come over to Tokyo gymnasium to see games after work or school?!
⦿ Men's Singles
Viktor AXELSEN (Denmark) VS Kenta NISHIMOTO（Tonami Transportation）
＊win-loss record: Kenta NISHIMOTO 1 win and 0 losses
"I can't afford to relax tomorrow. Strategy is to withstand all kinds of pressure and to play long rally to exhaust my opponent."
Japan champion Kenta NISHIMOTO (Tonami Transportation · WR 61st) said ahead of awaiting battle against the Rio Olympics bronze medalist Viktor AXELSEN (WR 2nd) who also got the title of the world champion in August.
Although he sounds like a challenger against champion, if we look at their win-loss record, in fact it is NISHIMOTO who has 1 victory in match against AXELSEN in the past and 0 losses. This happen in the first round of the German Open in March 2016, NISHIMOTO won 3rd game. Hence, it can be said that two of them don't have such a dramatic difference in their skills.
In fact, both AXELSEN and NISHIMOTO were born in 1994 and 23 years old. NISHIMOTO says "My opponent is a world champion but we are same age and I'm willing to work hard to challenge him".
If NISHIMOTO is going to make a chance to score, the key is in shutting off 194 cm tall AXELSEN's angled attacks. There are many things NISHIMOTO will have to do, such as striking high when raising a high shuttle and striking a net shot that is not floating when playing at the front of the net.
So, if the AXELSEN's attacks are sealed down, the game will become balanced and interesting.
⦿ Check Viktor AXELSEN profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-5.html
⦿ Check Kenta NISHIMOTO profile and racket.
http://www.tonami-badminton.jp/players/kenta_nishimoto.html
⦿ Men's Singles
LIN Dan (China) VS LEE Dong Keun (Korea)
＊win-loss record: LIN Dan 8 wins and 0 losses
LIN Dan (WR 3rd) advanced to second round, despite dropping one game in the first round. He said that it was because "The main color was changed to red this time and the atmosphere was different, so it took time to get used to." "The sticker in the shuttle is red!", said surprised LIN Dan. However, after increasing his focus, he was able to play 2nd and 3rd games without any challenges.
Will tomorrow's match against 26-year-old LEE Dong Keun (Korea · WR 50th) end with LIN Dan overwhelming victory? The experience gained by winning the Olympics twice and winning the world championship 5 times should not be shaken easily. Even at the age of 33, winning the second place at the world championship in August shows his magnificent power.
What shuffles will be badminton's "living" legend sending to win against the opponent? Badminton fans will surely be fascinating by focusing on such point. I want you to witness LIN Dan's control power to accurately deliver to the four corners of the court that everyone admires.
⦿ Check LIN Dan profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-2.html
⦿ Women's singles
Carolina MARIN (Spain) VS Saina NEHWAL (India)
＊win-loss record: Saina NEHWAL 4 wins and 3 losses
MARIN (WR 5th), the Rio Olympics Gold medalist, commented: "When top ranked players meet on court, luck can be on anybody's side. I want to concentrate on each moment and think how to win this match". NEHWAL (WR 12th) , the London Olympics Bronze medalist, said that "It is not easy to win against MARIN. She is a player who doesn't give up till the last moment."
24-year-old vs 27-year-old, NEHWAL who is elder of two, exceeds winning percentage with 4 wins and 3 losses. However, their last battle dates back to June of 2016 at Indonesia Open. MARIN won that game, but post Olympics her condition wasn't good and she hasn't won any super series titles in the past 1 year. MARIN says that she regained her strengths around July of this year.
The only way to know who will win is to follow their game.
They both have different distinctive qualities. MARIN is emotional and shows her feeling openly during the game. Being left handed player, she sends a powerful shuttle to her opponent, this way pushing the opponent into the back of the court. NEHWAL on the other hand keeps her emotions to herself and builds up her game rhythm through receives.
Truly a battle of motion and stillness. Make sure to see which one will control the game.
＊Check Carolina MARIN profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-8.html
⦿ Women's singles
PUSARLA V. Sindhu（India） VS Nozomi OKUHARA（Nihon Unisys）
＊win-loss record: 4 win and 4 losses
If there is a fateful rival for Nozomi OKUARA (WR 9th), Indian PUSARLA V. Sindhu (WR 4th place) is becoming one.
OKUHARA was defeated by Sindhu at the semifinal of the Rio Olympics, but we all remember OKUHARA's dramatic revenge victory at this year's World Championship finals in August.
In addition, "reverse revenge" has happened at the Korean Open last week. They faced each other in final game, this time Sindhu won. To summarize the history of their games against each other, the competition results so far are 4 wins and 4 losses, respectively, both are 22 years old born in 1995. Big difference comes in terms of height, Sindhu is 179 centimeters, OKUHARA is 156 centimeters, but they are somehow similar and equally balanced.
So, what do those two have to say about each other. OKUHARA's comment first.
"At the Korea Open, the wind was too strong to keep up with the shuttle, but this venue is similar to the venue in Scotland with less wind (world championship venue). Hence, the shuttle should not fly much and I expect the game to turn into long rally. I think these conditions make me more advantageous. "
Sindhu commented the following.
"I understand that everyone is looking forward to this match. There is nothing special to comment on, but I think t it will be a long game. It should be a good match."
Only one of them will win tomorrow's game. Who will be one step ahead of her opponent? What kind of world class match will you show us?
Too bad two of them will have to face each other so early into the tournament.
＊Check PUSARLA profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-27.html
⦿ Men's doubles
Marcus Fernaldi GIDEON／Kevin Sanjaya SUKAMULJO (Indonesia) VS Takuro HOKI／Yugo KOBAYASHI（Tonami Transportation）
＊win-loss record: GIDEON／Sanjaya 4 wins and 0 losses
"Kevin's front guard is number one in the world. The challenge is how to receive his shuttles and send it to the back of the court."
This is the approach Yugo Kobayashi wants to take against GIDEON／Sanjaya（WR 3rd） in second round.
Bronze medalists at World championship Keigo SONODA／Takeshi KAMURA（Tonami Transportation）also say they are not good at handling GIDEON／Sanjaya pair. It is because they use various feint shot to stop their opponents.
"Sometimes we ask for advice from senior players"（KOBAYASHI）
For HOKI／KOBAYASHI pair to get their first victory, the important factor will be whether Kobayashi can withstand feint shots from Kevin at front of the net and connect to HOKI who has strong smashes.
The Indonesian pair who has won the Super Series 4 times in the past year says about HOKI / KOBAYASHI: "Their defense is very good, and they seem to make very few mistakes." For the challenger pair this is a great opportunity to learn from the best and aim higher horizons.
＊Check GIDEON profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-29.html
＊Check Sanjaya profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-30.html
http://www.tonami-badminton.jp/players/takurou_hoki.html
＊Check Yugo KOBAYASHI profile and racket.
http://www.tonami-badminton.jp/players/yuugo_kobayashi.html
⦿ Men's doubles
Mathias BOE／Carsten MOGENSEN（Denmark） VS Hendra SETIAWAN／TAN Boon Heong（Indonesia／Malaysia）
＊win-loss record: BOE／MOGENSEN 1 win and 0 losses
BOE / MOGENSEN of the world ranking number one will be playing against Hendra SETIAWAN (Indonesia) and TAN Boon Heong (Malaysia) international pair (WR 26th). Although there is a difference in the world rankings, a game is expected to be exciting one.
Because both SETIAWAN and TAN, who became a pair since the end of last year, have spectacular careers. SETIAWAN is a Gold medalist of the Beijing Olympic games and TAN is a Gold medalist of 2016 Asia Championship. As for the Olympic & Asian champion pair, each have rather long career but age of 33 and 30 is still good for challenges and winning a game. Even though practice time together is not long, they became runners-up at Australia Open in July. It can be said that they are ready to fight.
On the other hand, BOE / MOGENSEN of 37 years old & 34 years old said with confidence.
"When we can play our way, focus on serve, we know that it is difficult for anyone to win over us. Tonight, we will look back at today's game and make a solid strategy for tomorrow's game."
A high-level game with pride is promised.
＊Check BOE profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-11.html
＊Check MOGENSEN profile and racket.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/players/post-17.html
⦿ Women's doubles
CHAE Yoo Jung／KIM So Yeong（Korea） VS Ayako SAKURAMOTO／Yukiko TAKAHATA（YONEX）
＊First match
Out of 16 women's doubles pairs, 10 pairs are from Japan, which is the sign of thriving. It is SAKURAMOTO / TAKAHATA (WR 38th) that will challenge overseas pair. A fresh pair of 22 years old & 19 years old will face Korea's CHAE / KIM (WR 18th).
SAKURAMOTO / TAKAHATA could not forget the loss of the first game last year, so they promised to break through the first game this year. As aimed, they defeated Chinese pair and advanced to second round.
The opposing 22 year old & 25 year old Korea pair advanced to second round by defeating last year Danish champion pair Rytter JUHL / PEDERSEN. It was a fierce battle lasting over 78 minutes, but after the game they appeared looking rather refreshed and happy, commenting "We are very happy and super excited!"
To fight against this Korean pair, the pair from Japan is considering as countermeasures "to bring feelings to the front and not to draw back on receive". Their goal is to show the results here and to return to the Japan national team next year.
＊Check SAKURAMOTO／TAKAHATA profile.
http://www.yonex.co.jp/badminton/yonex-badminton-team/
⦿ Mixed doubles
Paraveen JORDAN／Debby SUSANTO（Indonesia） VS Satwiksairaj RANKIREDDY／Ashwini PONNAPPA（India）
＊First match
World ranking of India's pair is only 421st! 28-year-old PONNAPPA has registered from the qualifying game this time to let 17-year-old RANKIREDDY gain some experience. They come to the main game by breaking through Japanese pairs. How RANKIREDDY, who is hope for the future, will play on court is the key to watch.
Meanwhile, Jordan / Susanto fought against a 19-year-old pair from China in the first round, and won by 19 and 18 points. It was very close game. They are very experienced pair who won the title of 2016 English UK Championship, but they should know the power of young players' momentum.
How expert pair would face this young challenger pair, on the contrary, how the challengers would break that iron wall? Please enjoy the game.
