The Japan Open was graded up to the level of BWF World Tour Super 750 this year, becoming one of the world’s best international tournaments. It must be a dream for badminton fans in Japan to be able to see the top, world class athletes at a high-level international tournament.
The venue for this year, the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, is no doubt among the very best gymnasiums in the world at present. The predominantly black interior makes it easy for the shuttle to be seen. Despite the high roof, there is no strong wind flow and it definitely is an ideal environment for the players to play in.
It fills me with anticipation to think that the Tokyo Olympics will be held in 2 years time at a such excellent gymnasium. As a Japanese, I feel proud of it.

MOMOTA - Unrivaled in the Men’s Singles

Kento MOMOTA was simply sensational at this tournament, performing in all his matches. His receiving in particular was excellent. The rallies last long in this tournament, so it often became a battle of wills, and in these situations it is important to grab your chances. MOMOTA was able to play patiently without losing his composure, so he continued the rallies even at times when it looked like he could hit a winner. He waited for the moments to attack when his chances of winning were highest. To pull off this kind of play, you need to have patience and physical toughness, as well as a calm mentality. MOMOTA fulfilled his potential to realize it at this tournament. In the final he overwhelmed Khosit PHETPRADAB from Thailand in straight sets. He successfully won his first Japan Open title. There is much expectation that MOMOTA will evolve even further towards 2020.

A Regrettalle Second Place Finish in the Women’s Singles

Nozomi OKUHARA lost to last year’s champion Carolina MARIN (Spain) in the final, but I thought her condition was good throughout the tournament. OKUHARA wasn’t bad, but it just means that MARIN was even better. The key point was the 1st game in the final. The fact that she dropped this close contest was the most important moment in the match. At the end of the 1st game, it was concerning that OKUHARA started to lose her breath during the long rallies. Although she is a player with good footwork, she ran out of steam and slowed down a bit, so MARIN took full advantage. Maybe her fatigue from the consecutive matches since the 1st round took its toll. Her challenge from now on is to gain the stamina to be able to last during consecutive matches and long rallies.

Hope for the Future in the Men’s Doubles

There was a lot of expectation for the Sono-Kamu pair of Keigo SONODA and Takeshi KAMURA, who came up against the South Korean pair of KIM Won Ho and SEO Seung Jae in the 2nd round. They unfortunately couldn’t get past the Korean iron wall of defense and lost the match. The Sono-Kamu pair’s strengths are their ability in low flying battles, their fast tempo and their skill at anticipating the game, but this time they were blocked by the solid defensive game that the South Koreans are renowned for. The reason they lost was their inability to attack effectively enough. The pair can grasp the pace of the match if they can attack with good rhythm at a fast tempo, so I hope they can keep working hard towards their next challenge.

The Fuku-Hiro Pair Grasped a Brilliant Victory in the Women’s Doubles

The victorious Fuku-Hiro pair of Yuki FUKUSHIMA and Sayaka HIROTA have always been able to play with toughness and patience, so it suited them well to have many long rallies in each match like they had in this tournament. In particular their semi-final against the Indonesian pair had many long rallies that became a real arm wrestle, which they somehow managed to win through sheer determination. Both their offense and defense sparkled in the final, where they had good rhythm in each play from start to finish and didn’t allow their opponents to attack. The variation of their attacks was also great. They didn’t just rely on smashes and instead they used drop shots effectively. Their opponents must have felt helpless. It was a brilliant victory.

The WATANABE/HIGASHINO Pair Competed Well in the Mixed Doubles

The final of the mixed doubles was a battle between Chinese pairs, but there was also a match between Japanese pairs in the 3rd round. Last year’s finalist Takuro HOKI formed a pair with Koharu YONEMOTO, who played the pair of Yuta WATANABE and Arisa HIGASHINO who won the All England Open. In the end it was the pair of WATANABE and HIGASHINO who triumphed in this all Japanese contest. However, in the end they eventually lost to the Chinese pair of WANG Yilyu and HUANG Dongping in the semi-final. It seemed like they were overwhelmed by the opposing pair’s speed when getting forward and their powerful play. Still, I think there is no doubt that the ability of the WATANABE/HIGASHINO pair has reached a world class level. Their recent development has been particularly noteworthy. They have become a pair that we can now always expect to be amongst the top 4 in the world.

On the event days at the venue there was a booth from Daihatsu, the title sponsor of the event, so I stopped by to visit. At the booth they handed out cheering goods as well as paper fans, while they also held events where you could win Japanese national uniforms in a lottery. I felt their passion and love for badminton when I saw the Daihatsu staff distributing cheering goods to the spectators. I believe this kind of support with a human touch is very encouraging for the players as well.