In the All Japan Championship, which decides the best badminton in Japan, the women's singles semi-final was held, and Nozomi Okuhara, who is aiming for the third straight victory, defeated London Olympic representative Sayaka Sato with a game count of 2-0 and advanced to the final.
The All Japan General Championship held at "Musashino Forest Sport Plaza" in Chofu City, Tokyo, celebrated the 5th day of the tournament, and various semi-finals were held.
Of these, in the women's singles, Okuhara, who ranked 5th in the world ranking at the first tournament after the Tokyo Olympics, played against Sato, the representative of the 2012 London Games.
Okuhara was swayed by the opponent at the start of the first game in a rally, and was led by losing points for 5 consecutive times.
However, after that, he gradually took advantage of his unique footwork to gain an advantage in the rally, moved the opponent back and forth and left and right, and then decided a sharp shot.
In the second game, I took 21 to 12 shots one after another on a tough course and won straight with a game count of 2 to 0 to advance to the final.
In the final on the 30th, he will face 21-year-old Hirari Mizui with the aim of winning his first tournament for the third consecutive time.
In addition, the men's singles final will be played by Kodai Naraoka, who won the bronze medal at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games, and Yushi Tanaka of Nihon University.
In the men's doubles, a pair of Masato Takano and Katsuki Tamate will play against a pair of Takuto Inoue and Kenya Mitsuhashi.
In the women's doubles, a pair of Sayaka Hobara and Rena Miyaura will play against a pair of Ayako Sakuramoto and Hinata Suzuki.
In the mixed doubles, a pair of Sumiya Nihira and Minami Asakura will play against a pair of Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito.
Okuhara to advance to the final "One ball at a time, step by step"
Nozomi Okuhara said, "I think it was a good match as a result of the strong desire to win each other in the semi-finals with Japan's senior and Sato. It is a big thing to beat the seniors and advance to the final stage. I think it is. "
Regarding the third straight victory that he is aiming for in the first tournament after the Tokyo Olympics, he said, "I've been having a very difficult match so far, and I've gradually grasped the rhythm of the performance, so in the last match, I'm one. I want to move forward step by step, ball by ball. "