Japanese shuttlers establish their worth in Thomas Cup Preliminary Round – Badminton news
Japanese shuttlers showed a strong character in all matches of the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round, which ended in Macau on Sunday, February 19. Japan lost to China in the final match with a 0-3 margin but it has achieved an elevated position in the arena of badminton.
The Japanese players have reached a certain level of skills and have become a threat to all badminton nations in the Thomas Cup Finals, which is set to take place in China, from May 20-27.
In the final match of the Preliminary Round, Japan could not beat any Chinese player and went down 0-3 but all shuttlers have shown the world that they are ready to challenge any opponent on the planet on a given day.
In the semi-final contest, Japanese players overpowered Malaysian opponents and took the fight with a 3-2 margin on the score board. Such an impressive performance indicates that they have become one of the strongest nations in badminton world.
While talking about the steady progress of Japan at international stage, Malaysia’s national coach Tan Kim Her said that the Japanese shuttlers are true professionals as they are consistent in their gutsy display in all major tournaments.
He appreciated the Men’s Singles shuttlers of Japan including World Number Six Sho Sasaki, number seven Kenichi Tago and Kazushi Yamada.
Kim Her also praised the Men’s Doubles pairs including, Noriyasu Hirata – Hirokatsu Hashimoto, Naoki Kawamae – Shoji Sato and Hiroyuki Endo – Kenichi Hayakawa for their elevated performances in the arena of elite shuttlers.
He said, “Japan have grown into a strong and established team. They have more depth because of the steady progress of their singles players to complement their doubles. They take badminton seriously and are very professional in their approach. Our players can pick up few pointers from them in being more independent.”
He further added, “Japan’s pairs play in more than 15 tournaments a year as well as their own domestic league. It shows that they are mentally and physically very strong.”
Japan lost to China in the final of Preliminary Round but all Japanese shuttlers are in high spirits as they have strongly made their presence felt to the world of badminton.
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