Source:Oriental Image/Zheng Hongliang
[Saba Sports News] In the 2025 Japan Masters Badminton Round of 16, Nozomi Okuhara, who has been in poor form due to injuries in the past two years, caused an upset by defeating Akane Yamaguchi 21-19, 21-15. Previously, due to her declining form and to maintain her ranking, Okuhara switched to lower-level tournaments this year. She just won the 2025 Indonesia Masters 100, 2025 Malaysia Super 100, and 2025 Kaohsiung Masters, successfully securing her world ranking within the top 32 and earning entry to high-level tournaments. Meanwhile, Yamaguchi has been maintaining excellent form, reaching the semi-finals of this year’s All England, Malaysia Masters, as well as the Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, China, and Denmark Opens. She also won the World Championships gold medal and the Korea Open and Arctic Open titles. This loss came as a great surprise to both media and fans. After the match, Yamaguchi explained the reason for her defeat in an interview: she experienced discomfort in her foot due to slipping during the first-round match, which prevented her from moving as freely as usual in today’s game. During extended rallies, she struggled to seize the initiative and finish points, also making several unforced errors, ultimately failing to turn the match around.