Japanese shuttlers rapidly catching up with top nations in badminton
Japan has proved its worth in the last couple of years, as many Japanese shuttlers are rapidly catching up with top athletes from leading badminton nations including China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Denmark. The decreasing gap between Japanese athletes and
the top shuttlers in the world in all categories indicates their high level of commitment with the sport.
China is the leading badminton country in Asia along with Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia, and shuttlers from these countries have always been among top contenders in all major international events. Now, Japanese shuttlers have made their place among elite
shuttlers of the world through their continuous and untiring hard work, which has put them on the right path and they are earning respect from the best athletes in the arena.
In the category of Men’s Singles, Japan has three shuttlers who stand in the top-20 positions in the Men’s Singles world rankings. These three shuttlers include Sho Sasaki, who is currently World Number 12, Kenichi Tago, who is World Number 17 and Kazushi
Yamada, who occupies 20th position in the world rankings conducted by the Badminton World Federation.
All of these three shuttlers have proved their skill by contesting against top players in major international events. Sho Sasaki is the most successful so far in the current year, as he has won the 2011 Australian Open Grand Prix Gold and the 2011 US Open
Grand Prix Gold. The Japanese also made his mark on China’s Lin Dan, the ruling Olympic champion, by beating him in the second round of the 2011 Indonesia Open Premier Super Series.
In the Women’s Singles category, three ladies have moved up into the top-25 positions in the world rankings. Eriko Hirose is currently ranked at number 17, Sayaka Sato is World Number 18 and Ai Goto is placed at Number 24 in the world standings of BWF. Ai
Goto made her presence felt to the world by delivering a stunning performance at the 2011 India Open Super Series, where she defeated the top seed, Saina Nehwal of India in the first round.
In the category of Men’s Doubles, three Japanese pairs have made their way into the top-14 positions in the world rankings. Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata are currently placed at the Number Eight position in the world rankings, while Naoki Kawamae
- Shoji Sato are ranked at Number 12 and Hiroyuki Endo - Kenichi Hayakawa are standing at 14th place in the world rankings. The statistics shows that Japanese pairs are considered among the top contestants in international events.
In the Women’s Doubles category, Japan has three positions in the top-ten indicating that Japanese females have raised their game to the level of China. Japan’s Satoko Suetsuna and Miyuki Maeda are currently ranked at Number Two in the world. The second
Japanese pair of Reika Kakiiwa and Mizuki Fujii is at the World Number Four spot and Shizuka Matsuo - Mami Naito is ranked at Number Six in the world standings. Three pairs among the top-six positions, establishes Japan’s firm spot at the international level.
In the Mixed Doubles category, Japan’s Shintaro Ikeda and Reiko Shiota have made a lot of improvement during the last couple of years and they are currently ranked at the 15th position in the world rankings.
Without doubt, Japanese shuttlers are catching up with top badminton nations in all categories with an incredible pace, which is a healthy sign for the standard of the sport as it will make the competition more tough and thrilling.
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