Junior Falcons, Aneesh Nirmal (Chandler BC – QLD) and Mimi Ngo (An Yu – WA), recently visited Japan to compete at the U16 SHONAI Invitational 2024, in addition to attending a high-performance training camp at Futaba Future.
The tournament in Tsuruoka saw some of the best junior players from across Asia and Europe compete in world-class facilities against other athletes within the same age group.
Badminton Australia National Performance Manager Brent Miller said the experience provided the athletes with a unique development opportunity.
“Mimi and Aneesh have increased their overall confidence as players and have a greater understanding of what’s required to both train and compete internationally,” he said.
“The experience has given them fantastic inspiration and momentum to continue working towards their long-term badminton goals.”
U16 SHONAI Invitational Results: https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/3cc284f3-8f96-4d34-b5f5-0ab2ebf342e2/matches/20240630
Following the U16 SHONAI Invitational 2024, Miller and the players remained in Japan to attend a training camp at Futaba Future, the home of Kento Momota and five of Japan’s Paris Olympics 2024 representatives Aya Ohori, Takuro Hoki, Yugo Kobayashi, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino.
“We were fortunate that both Hoki and Kobyashi visited the training facilities on numerous days and took the time to meet and play with our athletes, Miller said.
“What made the experience even more special was being part of an Olympic festival celebrating the five athletes from Fukushima who qualified for Paris.”
Both Aneesh and Mimi said the opportunity of playing against Japan’s top players helped with their overall confidence on the badminton court.
“The most memorable part of this trip was competing in the tournament against all the international athletes and then being able to play against world champions Aya Ohori and Arisa Higashino during the training camp,” Ngo said.
“The biggest learning lesson from this trip was seeing how good the international players are. It’s really given me an insight to what level I am at and aspects of my game that I need to improve.”
Aneesh was equally inspired by the international experience in Japan.
“I learned many valuable skills from this tournament, but the one that I believe is most important is to always keep my quality, no matter if I’m leading or losing,” Nirmal said.
“The training was very challenging and different to what I’m used to, but very helpful as I embraced the experience of sparring and training with the best juniors in Japan.”
Badminton Australia would like to thank Badminton Oceania, U16 SHONAI Invitational 2024 Tournament Director Junichi Kasuga, and Coach Saito and the team at Futaba Future for making it a fantastic experience.
