The Japan Open is into its 43rd edition and here are some interesting facts around the year’s fourth HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event.

• Japan have been winning at least one category starting with the 2017 edition.
• No country has ruled a discipline like China have mixed doubles the past decade. From 2014, five of the finals have been aced by them.
• After Akane Yamaguchi ended their 32-year wait for a home champion in 2013, Japan have celebrated podium toppers at all but one edition (2016).
• Second seed Yamaguchi stands to become the maiden local shuttler to win four Japan Opens, two more than Kento Momota and Misaki Matsutomo.
• Success would also make her the player with the most titles since Malaysian icon Lee Chong Wei’s No.6 in 2016.
• Already, she accounts for 75 per cent of Japan’s triumphs in the discipline. Nozomi Okuhara is the only other home women’s singles player to succeed (2015).
• Japan Open was women’s singles fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying’s debut Superseries victory. At the time of winning in 2012, 18-year-old Tai made history as the youngest to capture an event at that level.
• Among returning former champions, the Chinese Taipei’s 12-year drought is the lengthiest.
• Only one nation has ruled a category the last three editions – Korea in women’s doubles.
• A successful title defence by seventh seeds Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong will make them the first women’s pair since four-time winners Ge Fei/Gu Jun (1995, 1997-1999) to top the podium thrice. Kim/Kong took their first victory in 2019.
• Alongside Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino, the Koreans are the other defending champs in the draw.
• Wang Chi-Lin, who last year bagged men’s doubles with Paris 2024 gold medal-winning partner Lee Yang, is competing with a new sidekick (Chiu Hsiang Chieh).
• Playing at their final event as a pair, Watanabe/Higashino have the incentive of emulating Zhang Nan/Zhao Yun Lei – the last in the department to be back-to-back titlists in 2014.
• The legendary Lin Dan (2015) remains the most recent Chinese to taste glory in men’s singles, where Shi Yu Qi is seeded first.

Standout stat: Women’s doubles is the longest category not to see consecutive winners. Ge/Gu were the last to do it 25 years ago.