The A/Bs of Japan’s 2019 national team

The Nippon Badminton Association announced the full list of 2019 national team members on December 3 but the coveted ‘A team’ spots were announced today.

By Miyuki Komiya.  Photos: Badmintonphoto

The Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) has gone through its annual process of dividing their national team members into A and B teams and announced them on December 11.  A team players are the ones who will be sent to the biggest tournaments, including the major team events, and it is they who will have the most realistic chance of reaching every shuttler’s target: being among the maximum two players or pairs in each category to qualify in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Listed below are Japan’s national A team players:

Click here for the gallery of head shots

The Badminton World Federation’s ‘Top Committed Player’ category has also forced the NBA to send non-A team players to Super 750 and Super 1000 events.  In 2019, it appears that only women’s doubles pair Ayako Sakuramoto / Yukiko Takahata (pictured) will be affected.  NBA rules may not allow B team members to play top events but Sakuramoto/Takahata have finished this year’s World Tour with a world ranking of #10 and that will likely mean the BWF will fine them if they miss Super 750 or 1000 events or more than 3 Super 500 tournaments in the coming year.

Listed below are Japan’s national B team players:

Click here for the gallery of head shots