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OLYMPIC WD Preview – Can Japan get their fairy-tale final?
How are Japan’s chances in the home team’s strongest discipline going into the Tokyo Olympics? Can Hirota and Fukushima rise to the biggest occasion of their career?
By Don Hearn. Photos: Badmintonphoto
Entering the Olympic women’s doubles competition with the first and third seeds belies Japan’s dominance in this discipline over the past few years. With over two dozen Superseries or equivalent titles, two World Championships, and Asian Games silver all since Matsutomo and Takahashi won gold in Rio, the Japanese podium success is close to rivalling China’s at the height of its women’s doubles power. In early 2019, Japan accounted for half the pairs in the world’s top ten.
ALL ENGLAND 2021 Preview – Anomaly in the evolution narrative
The All England tournament shall stoically carry on inside a stadium sans spectators while Britain cautiously embarks on easing its second COVID-19 lockdown. Our preview specialist, Aaron Wong, continues charting the evolution of the sport against the backdrop of troubled times.
By Aaron Wong. Photos: Badmintonphoto
Birmingham COVID-19 numbers for February 5th, 2021
As of the entry deadline for the 2021 All England, February 9, an athlete’s decision on whether to participate was informed by knowledge that 3328 confirmed new COVID-19 cases were detected in the preceding week for the city of Birmingham, where the venue is. Granted that was remarkably down from a scary weekly total of 1100 cases higher seven days prior.