How is the situation with a reserve player? I dont have knowledge about the rules, but there has to be a replacement ready, if one of the main olympic players get "injured". Could JNT use advantage of this? They could see if Ishikawa gets back in form, or if Hayata´s performance skyrock and adjust the third teammember just before the olympic tournament?
I know JNT will never do something like this, but this could help JNT to chose the best player in form and not just months ahead.
The reserve or alternate player only plays in the Olympics if one of the 3 Olympic players gets injured during the competition. I made a post on the reserve or alternate player in post #68 of the thread, which I'll copy below.
The alternate or reserve player of the Olympics can replace a player who is injured or ill before the match starts, but the injury or illness must be real and legitimate. Let me illustrate:
Let's say for example, JTTA believes that the Ishikawa and Hayata/Ito lineup will be best against all Non-Chinese Teams because Ishikawa is consistent against Non-Chinese players and Hayata/Ito hasn't lost to a Non-Chinese doubles team since 2017. However, let's say for example that JTTA also believes that the Hirano, Hayata and Ito lineup will give them the best chance against Team China because of its youth, fearlessness and unpredictability. (Again, this is only an example. I, in no way, know what JTTA is truly thinking or how they assess their players.)
In theory, Japan could send Ishikawa, Hayata and Ito to play all matches until the Semifinals for the Olympics. Then, when Japan faces China in the Final, Ishikawa would get "injured" and claim that she cannot play anymore in the tournament in order for Hirano, the alternate, to replace her for the match against China, and give Japan a better chance of winning.
However, in reality, this is harder to pull off since Ishikawa would need to get a medical certificate from a doctor certifying that she cannot play. She can't just "claim injury" without proof since this is the Olympic rules for injury replacement. Of course, if Ishikawa wanted to take one for the team and purposely injure herself, so Hirano can play, then the injury replacement would be valid.
Therefore, unless there really is a legitimate injury, Japan is stuck with the 3 players they choose.
If the legitimate injury to one to the 3 players happens before the Olympics start, and before the deadline for the submission of athlete names, then Japan can replace the injured player with anyone and not just the supposed reserve/alternate player.
