How Nozomi Okuhara changed ‘undeniable fact of being short statured’, and still rose to be badminton world champion, beating Sindhu | Badminton News
Nozomi Okuhara was born on March 13. But that first line of a Wikipedia entry or even a long tale, has hugely significant implications in Japan. Forever stuck with schoolmates who might have been born in April of previous year and hence growing faster and always taller than her, Okuhara had a strange start to her badminton, riddled with self doubts, but remained determined. In Episode 2 of her Column series ‘Hope Moves Us Forward’, on the Note publishing platform, Okuhara spoke of a unique complex she grew up with, of being short statured. While the Sindhu-Okuhara World Championships finals of 2017 (won by Japanese) and 2019 (won by the Indian), attained fame for the sheer quality of battle on display, it was also the pitting of shuttlers, one who was 5-foot-1, the other a whole 10 inches taller at 5-foot-11. The episode is headlines by an iconic image of Sindhu and Okuhara at the net, albeit not from the same match. But it underlines Okuhara’s tale where she opens up about battling in elite …






