From this year there are major changes to the rankings of international badminton tournaments; the Japan Open will be at the level known as BWF World Tour “Super 750”, making it one of the world’s top international tournaments. Only players ranked within the world top 32 will be eligible from this year, so it has become a tournament that will be difficult to reach even for players from the host nation of Japan. On the other hand, the top ranked players have an obligation to appear, which means that the top level players in the world will definitely be there. This is sure to make it an entertaining tournament played at an extremely high level.

The venue from this year will be Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. This location will be the venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so players from across the world will no doubt be looking to gain match experience there. Japanese players have not played often there neither, so they will be wanting to get a feel for the venue’s atmosphere at this tournament. I actually had a chance to play at the main arena of the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza at a recent event. It is easy to see the shuttle, thanks to the dark walls, so it was easy to hit it. The ceiling of the venue is also quite high, so there are a lot of seats to make it easy for the fans to see the matches.

Kento MOMOTA

The number one player to focus on at this tournament has to be Kento MOMOTA in the Men’s Singles. He has already achieved good results at various tournaments this year. After his absence, I feel that he has matured to another level. He has always had good intuition and ability, but I think his receiving in particular has really improved. He is able to receive in a way that is not defensive but instead leads to attack, while his footwork is assured and he has a strong core. In addition to his natural ability, I think his recent performance has boosted to his confidence. He has the intelligence to turn experience into power, so he will surely achieve good results at this year’s Japan Open. The Japanese fans will want to see him win at this major tournament at home, so I really hope MOMOTA can bring out his best.

For the Women’s Singles, the duo of Akane YAMAGUCHI and Nozomi OKUHARA cannot be ignored. When she is on a roll, YAMAGUCHI plays so incredible that she is unstoppable, while she also has fine instincts and tricky shots that other players don’t possess. She is a very strong player if she gains control from the start of a match. YAMAGUCHI has also said herself that the Japan Open is a tournament that suits her well, so I think she will enter it with a lot of motivation.
As for OKUHARA, she won the recent Thailand Open 2018 and her vision from the game is not bad, so I think she will approach this tournament in an improved condition. She had a direct contest with YAMAGUCHI at the Rio Olympics, so we might be able to see a rematch from these two at the Japan Open. I am really looking forward to it.

Kanta TSUNEYAMA

Hiroyuki ENDO / Yuta WATANABE pair

There are some players who are worthy of note not only for their anticipated success in this year’s tournament, but also for leading the next generation of the Japanese badminton scene as they aim for 2020.
I will be paying attention to Kanta TSUNEYAMA in the Men’s Singles. He is only 22 years old but has developed significantly lately and won the recent “Thailand Open 2018”. He is good at placement, and his shots are hard to read for the opponents. He is a tough sort of player with a strong mentality. He is lightly built at this point, so he relies on skillful control rather than power. He is still young he has room to grow. I am looking forward to see how he will develop.

Sayaka TAKAHASHI is a player to look out for in the Women’s Singles. She is a B representative for now but she won the Singapore Open 2018 and has a lot of natural ability. She has the angles, shots and height to be able to hold her own overseas, so she may be able to trouble YAMAGUCHI and OKUHARA at this tournament.

In the Men’s Doubles, the pair of Takuto INOUE and Yuki KANEKO as well as the pair of Hiroyuki ENDO and Yuta WATANABE are the heirs to the “Sono-Kamu” pair. With the pair of INOUE and KANEKO in particular, they both play in an unpredictable way so I think they will play entertaining matches at this tournament.

For the Women’s Doubles, I hope people pay attention to Ayako SAKURAMOTO and Yukiko TAKAHATA. They have not appeared in many matches so their rank is still low, but they are the most promising pair right now. Especially in recent times, the look in their eyes and expressions during the matches are improving. It seems there is an atmosphere now that they feel comfortable as representative players. Rather than just catching up to the A representatives, it feels like they are ambitious and really want to take it to their opponents when they get the chance. Once they build up experience and develop stability, I think this pair will be more than capable at a global level.

Of course, the Japan Open is an international tournament, so it isn’t just Japanese players who will feature but also top players from around the world. This will be the first tournament to be held at the venue of the Tokyo Olympics, so this has made it particularly appealing for players who have their sights set on 2020. Many of them are likely to appear here.

All the players are ranked within the world’s top 32, so everyone is at a high level, but from Malaysia I will be focusing on the Men’s Doubles pair of GOH V Shem and TAN Wee Kiong. They were silver medalists at the Rio Olympics, but recently their ranking has fallen slightly. However, they have a strong natural ability and are unstoppable once they build momentum, so they are fearsome rivals for the “Sono-Kamu” pair.

For the Men’s Doubles, the Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi GIDEON and Kevin Sanjaya SUKAMULJO who won the tournament last year are also worth paying attention to. They are both quite short in height, but they are able technicians and play their matches at a fast tempo. Kevin in particular plays in an entertaining way, so he is a player that people should come and see live at the venue.

For the Women’s Doubles, the pair of Greysia POLII and Apriyani RAHAYU who are from Indonesia should be favorites to twin the tournament. They are a pair with quite an attacking style, who make use of low flying shots and fast play that Indonesian players are so good at. The Japanese Women’s Doubles players such as the “Taka-Matsu” pair are sure to be aware of this duo.