The 20th Daihatsu
ABC Badminton
National Primary School
Tournament Report
- Date: 11th - 13th, August. 2019
- Venue: Yatsushiro Toyooka Chiken Arena (Yatsushiro City General Gymnasium),
Yatsushiro City Toyo Sports Center
Top primary school players came to Kumamoto during the peak of summer!
Exciting contests were played to decide the best players in Japan.
The 20th Daihatsu ABC Badminton National Primary School Tournament was held over 3 days starting from Sunday August 11. Following on from last year, it was held at the Yatsushiro Toyooka Chiken Arena (Yatsushiro City General Gymnasium) and Yatsushiro City Toyo Sports Center in Kumamoto prefecture.
326 of Japan’s leading primary school players, who impressively earned their tickets to the national tournament via the regional qualifying rounds held across the nation in April, came together in Kumamoto during the peak of summer. Exciting matches were played out with victory at this illustrious tournament at stake, with current Japanese national team players such as Akane YAMAGUCHI and Ayaka TAKAHASHI having emerged from here in the past.
At the opening ceremony held on Sunday August 11, representatives from the organizers and sponsors, such as Nippon Badminton Association Secretary General Kinji ZENIYA, expressed heartfelt encouragement before the matches began to the players who came from all corners of Japan.
There was also the announcement of the name Bado-nyan for the DAIHATSU×Badminton supporter mascot, which was chosen from submissions made at the qualifying round venues. A life-size Bado-nyan doll welcomed the players as they entered during the opening ceremony.
There was even a surprise video message shown to give courage to the competing players, who would have been feeling nervous ahead of the finals. It featured BIRD JAPAN badminton stars such as Kento MOMOTA, Akane YAMAGUCHI, Nozomi OKUHARA, Ayaka TAKAHASHI, and Misaki MATSUTOMO.
Interviews with the Champions
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Boys A Group Winner
Shuji SAWADA
- How do you feel?
- I’m so happy. Last year there were times when I wasn’t able to show my full ability, so this year I fought by pushing my body to the limit and gave everything I had.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- My family and coaches.
- Why were you able to win?
- I was able to keep on attacking and competed until I had no energy left.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I also aim to win at the national primary school badminton tournament for the 3rd consecutive time.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- LEE Chong Wei
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Girls A Group Winner
Akari KAMIO
- How do you feel?
- I am happy.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- My family and coaches.
- Why were you able to win?
- I didn’t make repeated mistakes and didn’t give up until the end.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I want to win at the next national primary school badminton tournament and become an Olympian in the future.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- Nozomi OKUHARA
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Boys B Group Winner
Hiromu TERASHIMA
- How do you feel?
- I managed to give my all even though I was nervous, so I’m filled with joy.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- Everyone at the Sendai Yamato Junior Badminton Club.
- Why were you able to win?
- I attacked with clear shots and then pushed the next loose return.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I want to win this ABC tournament again even when I’m in the 5th and 6th grades.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- Kento MOMOTA, Shuji SAWADA
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Girls B Group Winner
Ria HAGA
- How do you feel?
- I’m so happy because I didn’t think I could win.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- My coaches, family, and everyone else who has helped me.
- Why were you able to win?
- I kept a smile on my face during the matches, even when I was behind on the scoreboard.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I want to win at next year’s ABC tournament as well. I also hope to become a Japan national team player in the future.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- Kento MOMOTA, Akane YAMAGUCHI
-
Boys C Group Winner
Taisei KUSHIMA
- How do you feel?
- I’m really happy.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- Everyone at my badminton club.
- Why were you able to win?
- I managed to hit good clear shots.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I want to reach the last 4 at the next ABC tournament as well.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- Kento MOMOTA
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Girls C Group Winner
Kanon MATSUMOTO
- How do you feel?
- I am happy.
- Who do you want to share your feelings with?
- Everyone.
- Why were you able to win?
- My receives were good.
- What are your next or future goals?
- I want to win the next ABC tournament too. I want to become like Akane YAMAGUCHI in the future.
- Which players do you like, or aspire to be like?
- Akane YAMAGUCHI
Match Reports
Reports from the exciting matches by the most prominent players at the tournament.
Shuji SAWADA |
Shuji SAWADA sparkled with his natural awareness and solid technical abilityShuji SAWADA (Kita Hokkaido), the winner of Boys A Group, stood out from the crowd thanks to his excellent technique and outstanding game management. His strategy of carefully varying his shots to make the opponent run across all corners of the court got him through to the semifinal, while he showed a peerless ability to return any shot by choosing his favored course. As for the final, he overwhelmed his opponent by taking advantage of his well-preserved stamina to raise his speed from the start. He grabbed hold of the match with aggressive, powerful shots. The way he advanced through the tournament was truly impressive, showing a maturity beyond his years that was reminiscent of the world’s top players. |
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Akari KAMIO |
Akari KAMIO dominated her opponents with her skillful shot variationsGirls A Group winner Akari KAMIO (Tokyo) cleverly varied the altitude of her shots. She moved as if to smash but then sliced the face of the racquet at a slight angle to cut, so that the shuttle rapidly fell in front of the net. If she was a bit stretched by her opponent’s clear shot and had to take up a position for a round the head return, she motioned as if she would hit a clear shot to trick the opponent to move backwards. She then used a soft touch to hit a drop shot in front of the net. She never relied on power and instead cleverly varied her shots to surprise the other player to steal no-touch points again and again. |
Akari KAMIO |
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Players who narrowly fell short of victory, yet still shone brightly with their talent.
Boys A Group runner-up Tomoya KINONE (Kyoto) displayed outstanding attacking ability. The speed of his shots could put some adults to shame. Karin ABE (Saitama), the Girls A Group runner-up, firmly swung her racket and demonstrated her receiving ability by returning hits that floated just above the court. Yuhi AZUMAYA (Kita Hokkaido), who was defeated in the quarterfinals of Girls A Group, shone with her skillful cross-court shots.
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Tomoya KINONE
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Karin ABE
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Yuhi AZUMAYA
Check out the uploaded videos of the A Group finals below!
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Boys A Group Final
Shuji SAWADA (Kita Hokkaido) vs Tomoya KINONE (Kyoto)
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Girls A Group Final
Karin ABE (Saitama) vs Akari KAMIO (Tokyo)
You can also watch other matches at the SMASH and NET.TV channel on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/user/smashandnettv/videos
Tournament Photo Gallery
Naoto NAKAGUCHI（THE JAPAN SCHOOL CHILDREN BADMINTON FEDERATION Vice-Chairman / Technical Director）
The overall competitiveness improved this year, which led to more close contests than usual right from the opening match.
As for the coaches, we will continue to work hard to provide comprehensive mental and physical education, so the ability of the players can improve even further.
Having DAIHATSU’s support again this year has helped to motivate the players to reach for their next goals.
It was striking to see the motivation of the players increase thanks in particular to posters at the qualifying rounds that listed the winners of the tournament in previous years, as well as invitations for the winners to go to a world championship tournament.
The federation will keep managing the ABC Badminton National Primary School Tournament to help it be recognized as the starting point for reaching the Olympics.
KUMAMOTO DAIHATSU and DAIHATSU MOTOR supported the tournament together with everyone who came from across the nation!
The DAIHATSU booths that were set up inside the venue provided cheering goods, such as message boards and paper fans, as well as sports drinks and jelly to the players, team assistants, and those who came to support.
There was also a Facebook campaign that offered the chance to win replica Japanese badminton team uniforms or a DAIHATSU miniature car. Together with everyone who came to the venue, we helped to bring excitement to the tournament.
