(Xports News Reporter Kim Hyun-ki) Chiharu Shida, who won the bronze medal in badminton women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics last year, is pledging to bounce back in 2026 under the new combination system.
Shida won a prize at the Paris Olympics and quickly established himself as a symbol of Japanese badminton.
Shida, who was seeded 4th with Nami Matsuyama at the time, lost to Korea’s Kim So-young and Kong Hee-yong in the group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals in second place. In the quarterfinals, they advanced to the semifinals by defeating the group of Marieken Freugaert and Sarah Tigesen (Denmark), who were first place in the other group. They lost to the group of Liu Shengs and Tan Ning (China) and fell to the 3rd and 4th place match, but defeated the group of Pearly Tan and Tina Muralitharan (Malaysia) 2-0, taking one of the two bronze medals that Japan won at the Paris Olympics.
Immediately after winning the Olympics, Shida’s popularity soared. He is nicknamed ‘Shida Matsu’ after his and Matsumya’s last names. In particular, Japanese media still regularly introduces Shida’s current status. Requests to appear on TV programs continue.
She also received rave reviews as a ‘goddess of doubles’ and a ‘badminton idol’. He has established himself as a player with both skill and popularity.
However, Shida is making a fresh start after the World Championships in Paris, France last August. Matsuyama, who had been active as a duo for 10 years, suddenly announced that he would change his main sport to mixed doubles.
At the same time, the ‘Shida Matsu’ duo was disbanded. Shida formed a new women’s doubles team with Arisa Igarashi, who won bronze medals in succession in the mixed doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and last year’s Paris Olympics.
My grades are still not good. Since we started working together for the first time last September, we have never made it to the finals on the international stage.
However, at the French Open last October, they lost to Korea’s Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee by forfeit and advanced to the semifinals, where they lost to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto with a game score of 0-2.
Still, it was a game that gave me confidence as I reached the semifinals for the first time in the Super 750 competition.
Shida is listed on two world rankings in women’s doubles. The ranking of Nami Matsumoto, who has already disbanded, remains at 9th place. The Shida-Igarashi pair is ranked 21st in the world.
In Japanese badminton, a big concern next year is whether the Shida-Igarashi pair will soar next year.
Sid also recently promised on his SNS, “It was a difficult year, but I will show a good performance next year.”
Photo = Yonhap News / Chiharu Shida SNS
Reporter Kim Hyun-ki spitfire@xportsnews.com
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