Koki Watanabe

Kōki Watanabe
Watanabe at the 2026 Indonesia Open
Personal information
Born (1999-01-29) 29 January 1999
Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
CountryJapan
SportBadminton
HandednessRight
Coached bySho Sasaki
Men's singles
Career record211 wins, 135 losses (60.98%)
Highest ranking11 (22 October 2024)
Current ranking17 (25 August 2026)
BWF profile
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Japan
Sudirman Cup
Bronze medal – third place2025 XiamenMixed team
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2022 HangzhouMen's team
Asia Team Championships
Gold medal – first place2026 QingdaoMen's team
Bronze medal – third place2020 ManilaMen's team
Bronze medal – third place2024 SelangorMen's team
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place2015 LimaBoys' singles
Bronze medal – third place2016 BilbaoMixed team
Asian Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place2015 BangkokMixed team
Bronze medal – third place2016 BangkokMixed team

Koki Watanabe (渡邉 航貴, Watanabe Kōki; born 29 January 1999) is a Japanese badminton player.[1] He graduated from the Saitama Sakae High School, and was part of the BIPROGY team since 2017.[2] Watanabe has won a Super 500 title at the Canada Open and was the runner-up in the Super 750 at the Denmark Open.

Early life and junior career

Watanabe started his badminton career when he was four years old, entering the badminton club under the influence of his sister.[3] He later concentrated on badminton in kindergarten, and when he was in elementary school, he won the Saitama school championships for three consecutive years. Watanabe entered the Saitama Sakae Junior and Senior High School, and won the singles title at the national junior championships, also placing third in the doubles event.[2][3]

He competed with the national junior team at the 2015 and 2016 Asia and World Junior Championships. In 2015, he won a bronze medal in boys' singles and helped the team secure a mixed team bronze at the Asian Championships; he contributed to two additional team bronze medals at the 2016 Asian and World Junior Championships.[4]

Career

2018–2019

In 2018, Watanabe reached his first World Tour final at the Super 100 Russian Open, finishing as the runner-up.[5] Later that year, he won his first international title at the K & D Graphics International, defeating compatriot Kodai Naraoka in the final.[6]

In 2019, Watanabe secured his maiden World Tour title at the Super 100 Orléans Masters and claimed victory at the Osaka International.[7][8] Throughout the 2019 season, he advanced to the semi-finals of the Chinese Taipei Open and the Canada Open.

2020–2022

In 2020, Watanabe won a bronze medal with the Japanese men's team at the Asia Team Championships.[9] After the international circuit resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic, he made his Super 1000 debut at the 2021 All England Open, where he lost in the first round to Viktor Axelsen.[10] Later that year, he made his World Championships debut in Huelva, advancing to the second round.[11] His best result of the 2022 season was a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open.

2023

In March, Watanabe won his first World Tour Super 300 title at the Swiss Open, defeating second seed Lee Zii Jia in the semi-finals and Chou Tien-chen in the final.[12] In November, he reached his second final of the season at the Korea Masters, where he finished as the runner-up to compatriot Kento Momota.[13] Throughout the year, Watanabe also advanced to the quarter-finals of the Spain Masters, Canada Open, Japan Open, Arctic Open, and Japan Masters.

2024

In February, Watanabe won a bronze medal with the Japanese men's team at the Asia Team Championships.[14] On the World Tour, he won his first Super 500 title at the Canada Open, defeating compatriot Kodai Naraoka in the semi-finals and Alex Lanier in the final.[15][16] Later in the season, Watanabe advanced to his first Super 750 final at the Denmark Open, where he defeated Olympic silver medalist Kunlavut Vitidsarn before finishing as runner-up to Anders Antonsen.[17][18][19]

Watanabe also reached the semi-finals of the Arctic Open and the U.S. Open, and the quarter-finals at the All England Open, China Open, and India Open.[20][21][22] His notable victories during the season included a win over world number 3 Li Shifeng at the India Open and two wins against Olympic bronze medalist Lee Zii Jia at the China and Arctic Opens.[23][24][25] Following these performances, Watanabe reached a career-high world ranking of 11 on 22 October.

2025

Watanabe experienced a challenging start to his 2025 season, suffering early-round exits in several tournaments, including the Super 1000 Malaysia Open and Indonesia Open.[26][27] His form improved in July at the Super 750 Japan Open, where he reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time. En route, he defeated Chou Tien-chen in the second round and Weng Hongyang in the quarter-finals.[28][29] Watanabe credited advice from compatriot Kento Momota, which encouraged him to adopt a "challenger spirit" to overcome his slump.[30][31] Later in the season, he reached the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open and French Open, although he was eliminated in the first round of both World Championships and China Open.[32] In team competition, he won a bronze medal with Japanese team at the Sudirman Cup.[33]

2026

In March, Watanabe competed at the All England Open, where he upset third seed Anders Antonsen in the opening round before being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Canada's Victor Lai.[34][35] He was also a member of the Japanese squad that secured the nation's first men's team title at the Asia Team Championships.[36] In April, Watanabe competed at the Asian Championships in Ningbo, China, defeating Zaki Ubaidillah in the first round before falling to Loh Kean Yew in the second round.[37][38] In May, he reached the quarter-finals at the Thailand Open, where he defeated sixth seed Kodai Naraoka in the second round before losing to world No. 1 Shi Yuqi.[39][40] Following a first-round exit at the Malaysia Masters, he advanced to the semi-finals of the Singapore Open. He defeated India's Lakshya Sen in the quarter-finals before losing to Loh Kean Yew.[41]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Result Ref.
BWF Awards 2019 Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year Nominated [42]

Achievements

World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2015 Centro de Alto Rendimiento de la Videna,
Lima, Peru		 Chinese Taipei Lu Chia-hung 18–21, 12–21 Bronze Bronze [43]

BWF World Tour (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[44] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[45]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Russian Open Super 100 India Sourabh Verma 21–18, 12–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [5]
2019 Orléans Masters Super 100 France Thomas Rouxel 18–21, 21–12, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [7]
2023 Swiss Open Super 300 Chinese Taipei Chou Tien-chen 22–20, 18–21, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [46][12]
2023 Korea Masters Super 300 Japan Kento Momota 16–21, 15–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [13]
2024 Canada Open Super 500 France Alex Lanier 20–22, 21–17, 21–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [47]
2024 Denmark Open Super 750 Denmark Anders Antonsen 15–21, 16–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [17][18]
2026 Japan Open Super 750 France Christo Popov 11–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [48]

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Yonex / K&D Graphics International Japan Kodai Naraoka 21–14, 14–21, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [6][49]
2019 Osaka International Japan Takuma Obayashi 19–21, 21–17, 21–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [50][8]
  BWF International Challenge tournament

BWF Junior International (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Boys' singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2015 Danish Junior Cup Japan Yuta Watanabe 21–12, 18–21, 7–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [51]

Boys' doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2015 Australian Junior International Japan Kenya Mitsuhashi Philippines Christian Bernardo
Philippines Alvin Morada		 16–21, 21–17, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [52]
  BWF Junior International Series tournament
  BWF Junior Future Series tournament

References

  1. ↑ "Players: Koki Watanabe". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Koki WATANABE | Profile". BIPROGY (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "もらった応援をうまく力に変えて、東京オリンピック出場を目指します！" (in Japanese). Koshigaya City. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "日本選手は準決勝敗退。銅メダル６個！ 世界ジュニア2015《個人戦》５日目結果" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Sourabh Verma wins Russian Open badminton, beats Koki Watanabe in final". Hindustan Times. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Pan Am Players at Yonex K&D Graphics International Challenge". Badminton Pan America. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. 1 2 Anastasiadou-Galva, Despoina (24 March 2019). "Très Bien for Europe in Orléans!". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  8. 1 2 Komiya, Miyuki (8 April 2019). "OSAKA INT'L 2019 – Japan leaves 2 titles for Korea, takes the rest". Badzine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Malaysian shuttlers beat Japan to reach Asia Team final". New Straits Times. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (24 March 2021). "Review: Triumph in the Face of Challenges". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Zhao Jun beats Koki Watanabe". International Olympic Committee. 14 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 Binner, Andrew (26 March 2023). "Watanabe Koki wins shock Swiss Open badminton men's singles title". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 27 October 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Korea Masters: Momota breaks dry spell". Badminton World Federation. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  14. ↑ Kano, Shintaro (17 February 2024). "Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024: Lee Zii Jia helps Malaysia into final; Japan knocked out of men's and women's events". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "[Canada Open 2024] Koki Watanabe wins his first Super 500 title! Nakanishi and Iwanaga win their fourth title of the season!" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  16. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (8 July 2024). "Canada Open: 'dream Come True'". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  17. 1 2 Schwager-Patel, Nischal (20 October 2024). "BWF Denmark Open 2024: Home hero Anders Antonsen and Wang Zhi Yi seal badminton titles in style". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  18. 1 2 Pierre, Dianne (21 October 2024). "Denmark Open: Kasper On Board, Anders Makes Spirited Beginning". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  19. ↑ Pierre, Dianne (18 October 2024). "Denmark Open: 'I Hope He's Okay'". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  20. ↑ de Villiers, Ockert (13 October 2024). "BWF Arctic Open 2024: Chou Tien-Chen sets up men's singles final clash against Jonatan Christie". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  21. ↑ "VICTOR China Open 2024". Orléans Masters Badminton. 7 October 2024. Archived from the original on 14 November 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  22. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (15 March 2024). "All England: Christo Popov Sets French Milestone". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 12 October 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  23. ↑ Mookherjee, Tanmoy (18 January 2024). "India Open: Busanan Shocks Yamaguchi". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Kano, Shintaro (17 September 2024). "BWF China Open 2024: Lee Zii Jia crashes out in first round - and fast". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 13 October 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  25. ↑ "Arctic Open: Watanabe Ends Lee's Reign". Badminton World Federation. 12 October 2024. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  26. ↑ "Badminton Malaysia Open 2025: Updates, Japanese Team Results, and Summary". International Olympic Committee (in Japanese). 6 January 2025. Archived from the original on 23 April 2026. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Badminton Indonesia Open 2025: Updates, Japanese Team Results, and Summary". International Olympic Committee (in Japanese). 2 June 2025. Archived from the original on 23 April 2026. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "[Badminton] Koki Watanabe comes from behind to beat world No. 6 in the second round of the Japan Open men's singles". Sports Nippon (in Japanese). 17 July 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  29. ↑ Raftery, Alan (19 July 2025). "Lanier eyeing Japan Open repeat". Badminton Europe. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  30. ↑ Kubo, Marina (18 July 2025). "Japan's third-ranked player, Koki Watanabe, advances to the semi-finals after receiving advice from Kento Momota at the Badminton Japan Open". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  31. ↑ "[Japan Open 2025] Koki Watanabe: "Yesterday's tough match had a positive effect. I'm making fewer unnecessary movements." (Quarter-finalist Player Comment #4)". Badminton Spirit (in Japanese). 18 July 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  32. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (26 August 2025). "Day to Savour for Azerbaijan". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  33. ↑ "Defending champions China power past Japan to reach Sudirman Cup final". New Straits Times. 3 May 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  34. ↑ "Shi Yu Qi knocked out on Day 1 of the YONEX All England 2026". Badminton England. 4 March 2026. Archived from the original on 15 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  35. ↑ "All England: Canada, France Celebrate Milestones". Badminton World Federation. 7 March 2026. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  36. ↑ "Badminton Asia Team: Maiden Title for Korea, Japan". Badminton World Federation. 8 February 2026. Archived from the original on 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  37. ↑ "Asian Badminton Championships 2026: Updates, Japanese Team Results, and Summary". International Olympic Committee (in Japanese). 11 April 2026. Archived from the original on 15 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  38. ↑ Kano, Shintaro (9 April 2026). "Badminton Asia Championships 2026: Loh Kean Yew survives Watanabe Koki challenge, moves into last eight". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 15 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  39. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (14 May 2026). "Thailand Open: Despite Injury, Intanon Serves a Treat". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  40. ↑ "Pitchamon keeps Thai hopes alive, Ratchanok falls". Bangkok Post. 16 May 2026. Archived from the original on 16 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  41. ↑ Lee, David (31 May 2026). "Loh Kean Yew reaches Singapore Badminton Open final for the first time". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  42. ↑ "Nominees Announced for Player of the Year Awards". Badminton World Federation. 5 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  43. ↑ Alleyne, Gayle (14 November 2015). "Historic Singles Finals – Day 5: YONEX BWF World Junior Championships 2015". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 19 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  44. ↑ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  45. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  46. ↑ "Swiss Open: Koki Watanabe Emerges Surprise Winner". Badminton World Federation. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  47. ↑ Sukumar, Dev (8 July 2024). "Canada Open dream come true". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  48. ↑ "BWF Japan Open 2026: PV Sindhu ends long title drought while Christo Popov victorious in men's singles". Olympics. 19 July 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  49. ↑ "Result: 2018 Yonex/K&D Graphics International Challenge" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 19 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  50. ↑ "[Osaka International Challenge] Japanese athletes win in three events! Watanabe, Kawakami, Hobara and Sone become champions!" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  51. ↑ Akashi, Noriko (12 October 2015). "Badminton Danish Junior 2015 | Reports". Nippon Badminton Association (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  52. ↑ Fujimoto, Josemari (11 September 2015). "Australia Junior International 2015 | Reports". Nippon Badminton Association (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
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