Tokyo: The Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) announced on August 19 that World No. 6 and the 2017 women’s singles World Champion Nozomi Okuhara had to withdraw from participating in the 2022 World Badminton Championships which will be held in Tokyo from August 22 to August 28 due to a right femoral stress fracture and right adductor muscle tear.
According to the statement, depending on Okuhara’s condition, she may or may not compete at the 2022 Japan Open 2022 which is scheduled to start on August 30.
Okuhara also expressed her frustration on her Twitter account following the announcement from the Nippon Badminton Association.
“I have decided to withdraw from the World Championships 2022. It’s very disappointing news for those who were looking forward to it. I will do my best to recover now. Thank you all for your support.”
I have decided to withdraw from the World Championships 2022. It’s a very disappointing news for those who were looking forward to it. I will do my best to recover now. Thank you all for your support. https://t.co/MnIXBZN9rp
— Okuhara Nozomi 奥原 希望 バドミントン選手 (@nozomi_o11) August 19, 2022
“It’s the first world championships held in Japan, but I am really frustrated that I couldn’t stand on the court. Right now, I will do my best to recover as soon as possible so that I can show you my best performance when I stand on the court again.”
世界選手権の出場を辞退することにしました。楽しみにしてくださっていた方にはとても残念なお知らせになってしまいました。今は回復に最善を尽くします！https://t.co/HmlHY3xOA3
— Okuhara Nozomi 奥原 希望 バドミントン選手 (@nozomi_o11) August 19, 2022
Meanwhile, the chief coach for the Japanese badminton team – Park Joo Bong also disappointed with the withdrawal of Okuhara.
“It’s sad because we’ve worked so hard at the Kumamoto training camp in July and the pre-world championships training camp since August 8th, and things were looking good. For now, the most important thing is to let Nozomi heal well and get ready for the next competition. In this year’s world championships, I would like the other players really step up their performance,” said Park.
