A fateful match between Korea and Japan unfolds for the first place in the group stage, which will be the stepping stone for winning the World Mixed Team Badminton Championships (Sudirman Cup) for the first time in six years.
The Korean badminton team will play the final 3rd match of Group D of the 2023 Sudirman Cup group league against Japan at the Olympic Sports Center in Suzhou안전놀이터, China on the 17th at 6pm (Korean time). Both Korea and Japan defeated France and the weakest England, who were pointed out as dark horses, one after another, and secured a ticket to the quarter-final tournament with two wins in a row and second place in the group.
Japan ranks first in the group ahead of game gains and losses, and Korea ranks second in the group. In the quarterfinal tournament, the second place in each group faces the first place in each group, so in order to avoid the strongest China, etc., who are sure to be ranked first in Group A, they must pass the group stage as first place. Korea has won the tournament four times in total, while Japan has only been runner-up three times without winning.
Korea is inferior to Japan in men’s singles, where Naraoka Kodai (3rd) is holding out, but is evaluated as being able to win enough victories in other events.
In particular, in mixed doubles, Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino (#2 in the world) are not in perfect condition, which is a good news for Korea. Watanabe suffered a knee injury at the Jeon Young Open in March. In the second match against France on the 15th, Watanabe-Higashino was caught 0-2 by Tom Gickel-Delphine Delou (6th place). On the other hand, Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jung Na-eun (9th) defeated Zickel and Delu 2-0 in the first match against France on the 14th. In addition to Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, Korea is holding out in mixed doubles with Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jeong (5th).
Ahn Se-yeong (2nd place) in the women’s singles also lost to Akane Yamaguchi (1st place) with a record of 6 wins and 12 losses, but met Yamaguchi in the final of the India Open in January this year and won the championship after ending a four-game losing streak.
In women’s doubles, Japan’s Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (#2) are ranked higher than Hana Baek and Sohee Lee (#5), Naeun Jeong and Hyejeong Kim (#6), and Soyoung Kim and Hee-Yong Gong (#8), but the difference in skills is not large. .
The World Badminton Federation (BWF) said on its website, “Korea has the advantage of being able to play in various combinations in doubles,” and “Japan is recovering from injuries and deterioration in form that it suffered after the Tokyo Olympics.”