Akane Yamaguchi

Akane Yamaguchi (山口 茜 Yamaguchi Akane, born 6 June 1997 in Fukui Prefecture) is a female Japanese badminton player who is singles specialist. She is one of the Japanese teenage prodigies that many people predict to be future elite women's singles competitors. She reached the finals of the BWF World Junior Championships three years in a row, winning silver at the 2012 BWF World Junior Championships in Chiba, Japan and winning the gold twice, once at the 2013 BWF World Junior Championships in Bangkok, Thailand and once at the 2014 BWF World Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia. At the age of 16 years and 3 months, Yamaguchi became the youngest player ever to win the BWF Super Series tournament by beating her compatriot Shizuka Uchida in the final of 2013 Japan Super Series. This was also the first time ever that a Japanese lady won the home event in the ladies singles at the Japan Open. This was in fact a historic first ever Japan Open victory for the home country.

Achievements

Badminton

Badminton is a racket sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side). Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the court. Each side may only strike the shuttlecock once before it passes over the net. Play ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor or if a fault has been called by the umpire, service judge, or (in their absence) the opposing side.

The shuttlecock is a feathered or (in informal matches) plastic projectile which flies differently from the balls used in many other sports. In particular, the feathers create much higher drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate more rapidly. Shuttlecocks also have a high top speed compared to the balls in other racquet sports.

Dubai World

Dubai World (Arabic: دبي العالمية‎) is an investment company that manages and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the Government of Dubai across a wide range of industry segments and projects that promote Dubai as a hub for commerce and trading. As a subsidiary of Dubai Inc., it is the emirate's flag bearer in global investments and has a central role in the direction of Dubai's economy. Assets include DP World, which caused considerable controversy when trying to take over six US ports, and Nakheel, its property arm, which built The Palm Islands and The World developments, and Istithmar World, its investment company. It is chaired by Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

History

Dubai World was established under a decree ratified on 2 March 2006 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. He also holds the majority stake in Dubai World.

On 2 July 2006, it was launched as a holding company with more than 50,000 employees in over 100 cities around the globe. The group now has extensive real estate investments in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Dubai World made headlines in March 2008 after its chairman, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, threatened to take the fund's money out of Europe. Dubai World's threats came shortly after the European Union attempted to lay out "a set of principles for transparency, predictability and accountability" for sovereign wealth funds.