The Brunei Times
JAPAN'S top shuttlers Reiko Shiota and Shintaro Ikeda are ready to woo badminton fans in the Sultanate during an exhibition match at the Yonex Brunei Open today.
The pair arrived late Wednesday with two other Japanese national shuttlers, Keita Masuda and Noriyasu Hirata, and yesterday paid a courtesy call to the Japanese Ambassador to Brunei, Hirose Noriki, at the Embassy of Japan in Kiulap near here.
"I'm proud of having the opportunity to come and play here. I hope it will help us to foster better relationship with Brunei," said Shiota in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
Despite only arriving on Wednesday, Ikeda is already in love with the country.
"Brunei is really beautiful and the weather here is nice. It has been very good so far and we are staying at a nice hotel, too," said Ikeda.
The pair of Ikeda and Shiota known as the IKE-SHIO combination are trying to qualify for the London Olympics in 2012 in the mixed doubles event.
Shiota, 26, is the former women's champion in the Japan Open for five consecutive years from 2004-2008.
Her partner, the 29-year-old Ikeda, was the men's doubles champion during the 2008 Japan Open.
Meanwhile, Masuda is the men's singles champion in Japan from 1998 to 2002. He then claimed the men's doubles champion in Japan from 2002 to 2004 before moving on to win the mixed doubles from 2005 to 2007.
The 30-year-old player too won the US Open 2007 men's doubles title.
Hirata, 26, was the Japanese men's doubles champion just last year.
Held at the Indoor Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas, the finals of the junior doubles, mixed doubles and veteran doubles categories will be held at 9am today.
The events at night will start at 7.45pm with desmonstrations by the Japanese national shuttlers followed by the finals of both the singles and doubles categories. The exhibition matches will be held after the finals.
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