The Super 500 Kumamoto Masters is into its second year as an HSBC BWF World Tour event.

• China won all the doubles categories in the tournament’s debut season in 2023.
• However, only men’s doubles winners He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu are back to defend their crown.
• Zhang Shu Xian, who aced women’s doubles with Zheng Yu, partners Jia Yi Fan this time around.
  
• Good omen for Zhang – she was seeded sixth last year as well.
• China also had representatives in all five finals – Shi Yu Qi and Chen Yu Fei finished runner-up. Both have not returned.
• Host nation Japan’s best performers were semifinalists Takuma Obayashi, Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara, Rena Miyaura/Ayako Sakuramoto and Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino.
• Sakuramoto and Higashino are now women’s doubles partners while Matsumoto and Watanabe have paired up with Yuki Fukushima and Maya Taguchi respectively.
• None of last edition’s semifinalists are present in mixed doubles, making it the most open of the five sectors.

Standout stat: Post COVID, China bagged the most titles (6) at World Tour tournaments hosted in Japan.