"Badminton has been developing massively in Japan, and it will be one of main sports for athletes to win in Olympic," JOC`s Chairman Yasuhiro Yamashita stated, during a press conference at the Asian Games Media Center in Jakarta, on Saturday.
Yamashita noted that Indonesian coach Riony Mainaky`s involvement in training the players had become the most supporting factor for the development of the Japanese Badminton team.
"We are fully aware that badminton is one the most popular sports during the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, and there are many great athletes from Indonesia. We have also been working with Indonesia in badminton development," he noted.
Yamashita, who is a 61-year-old former judo`s medalist in Olympic 1984 in Los Angeles, humbly remarked that in addition to focusing on victory, the Japanese team would take the chance to evaluate their performance during the Asian Games 2018.
"We will evaluate our shortcomings and any aspect that will deter us from performing well ahead of the Olympics," he noted.
Japan, which is the host of the Tokyo Olympic 2020, is targeting the third place by seizing a total 30 gold medals.
Apart from badminton, Japan would also count on some sports to get gold medals in the Olympic 2020, namely athletic, wrestling, judo, karate, sailing, swimming, gymnastic, roller blades and skateboards, as well as table tennis.
About 762 athletes and 334 officials from Japan will participate in the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang.
Reporting by Imam Santoso, Azizah Fitriyanti
Editing by Bustanudin
Reporter: Azizah Fitriyanti
Editor: Suharto
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