Tokyo: Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara were leading a new generation of Japanese badminton team that promised plenty and was so determined to win the Sudirman Cup this year for the land of the rising sun.
Apart from Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara, the Japanese Sudirman Cup team which also nicknamed “Bird Japan”, has featured in-form men’s doubles players Hiroyuki Endo, Keigo Sonoda, Yuta Watanabe, Takeshi Kamura.
Nippon Badminton Association Secretary General, Kinji Zeniya said that nickname had an important meaning for the success of the Japanese team.
“We have become the main target from world’s top players. Therefore, we are hoping to continue to improve with break through motivation and team spirit!” said Zeniya.
As a key figure in the Japanese Sudirman Cup team, World No. 1 men’s singles player Kento Momota told Japanese media that the main goal for his team was to win the championship.
“We are the strongest team in the tournament. Therefore, our main goal is to win the Sudirman Cup!”
In March of 2019, the Japanese national judo team became the laughing stock of many on the internet when it adopted “Godzilla Japan” as its official nickname.
Japan’s Sudirman Cup squad in full
Male players: Hiroyuki Endo, Kanta Tsuneyama, Kazumasa Sakai, Keigo Sonoda, Kenta Nishimoto, Kento Momota, Takuto Inoue, Takeshi Kamura, Yuki Kaneko, Yuta Watanabe
Female players: Ayaka Takahashi, Akane Yamaguchi, Koharu Yonemoto, Misaki Matsutomo, Nozomi Okuhara, Sayaka Hirota, Sayaka Sato, Sayaka Takahashi, Shiho Tanaka, Yuki Fukushima
