[Saba Sports News] Recently, a surprising twist has emerged in the entry list for the 2026 BWF World Championships: SHIDA Chiharu and Arisa Higashino have both turned down the reserve promotion berth to compete in the tournament, leaving many badminton fans stunned. After a Peruvian women’s doubles pair withdrew, the Japanese duo were eligible to fill the vacant spot, yet they opted to decline the offer. Notably, Shida had already skipped the Uber Cup and was left off the Asian Games roster. The Badminton Association of Japan later confirmed her withdrawal from both the Daihatsu Japan Open and VICTOR China Open. This string of absences has sparked widespread doubts over her competitive form and future career prospects. Now that she has rejected the World Championships reserve spot, speculation is rife that she may split with her long-time partner, with no clear answer in sight. From a technical perspective, the pairing has long-standing coordination flaws. Shida boasts elite net skills, yet her court mobility has noticeably slowed recently. Higashino packs ferocious rear-court attacking power but lacks consistency; the pair also struggle with on-court communication, frequently overlapping positioning or leaving defensive gaps. Statistics show their win rate on critical points stands at only 43% in the first half of this year, lower than all other Japanese women’s doubles combinations.
At present, the pairing of Chiharu Shida and Arisa Higashino is in poor form. Having rejected the reserve berth for the World Championships, there has been no official update regarding their upcoming competition schedule. Neither the Japanese badminton authorities nor Higashino have released any statements, and the latter has remained silent across all social media platforms. Both athletes are still young: Shida is 26 years old while Higashino is 24. Fans once believed they were in the prime of their careers, yet growing speculation suggests the duo may part ways in the near future.