Kakeru Kumagai
| Kakeru Kumagai | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 January 2002 Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Left | ||||||||||||||
| Coach | Lee Wan Wah Hiroyuki Endo | ||||||||||||||
| Men's doubles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 42 wins, 26 losses (61.76%) | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 63 (with Hiroki Nishi, 12 August 2025) | ||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 63 (with Hiroki Nishi, 12 August 2025) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| BWF profile | |||||||||||||||
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Kakeru Kumagai (熊谷 翔, Kumagai Kakeru; born 5 January 2002) is a Japanese badminton player from Miyagi Prefecture.[1] He graduated from Nihon University then continued his career as a professional badminton player by joining the BIPROGY badminton team.[2]
Early life and career
Junior career
Kakeru Kumagai was born on 5 January, in Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. He began playing badminton at the Sendai Yamato Junior club and later attended St. Ursula Gakuin Eichi Middle and High School, where he specialized in doubles.
In 2018, Kumagai and his partner, Yoshifumi Fujisawa, won the men's doubles title at the All Japan Junior Championships. The following year, he represented Japan at the World Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia. He was a member of the Japanese team that won a bronze medal in the mixed team event. In the individual event at the same championships, Kumagai competed in mixed doubles with Mizuki Otake, reaching the quarterfinals where they were defeated by the Chinese pair Jiang Zhenbang and Li Yijing in a close three-game match (20–22, 21–18, 21–23).[3]
University career
While attending Nihon University, Kumagai formed a men's doubles partnership with Kota Ogawa. In their final year in 2023, they won the All Japan Student Championships (Inter-Collegiate), defeating Hiroki Nishi and Yuto Kida in the final. On the international circuit that same year, Kumagai and Ogawa were the runners-up at the Indonesia Masters (Super 100) in Surabaya.[4]
Career
2023
Kumagai joined the 2023 Japan national badminton team (team B), playing men's doubles with Kota Ogawa.[5] He was coached by Lee Wan Wah, a former Malaysian men's doubles player.
2024
After graduating from Nihon University, Kumagai joined the BIPROGY badminton team on 1 April 2024.[6] He partners with Hiroki Nishi in men's doubles, under the coaching of former Japanese national players Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa. In their first season as a pair, Kumagai and Nishi finished as runners-up at the Kazakhstan International in April and the Super 100 Odisha Masters in December.[7][8] The pair also reached the quarterfinals at the Guwahati Masters in December.
2025
Kumagai is a member of the 2025 Japan National Team, playing men's doubles with Nishi and coached by Lee Wan Wah and Hiroyuki Endo.[9]
Achievements
BWF World Tour (2 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was introduced on 19 March 2017 and was held in 2018,[10] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[11]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (I) | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 |  Kota Ogawa
|
 Sabar Gutama Reza Isfahani
|
18–21, 15–21 |  Runner-up
|
[4] |
| 2024 | Odisha Masters | Super 100 | Hiroki Nishi
|
 Huang Di Liu Yang
|
13–21, 21–19, 25–27 | Runner-up
|
[8][12] |
BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kazakhstan International | Hiroki Nishi
|
 Lucas Corvée Ronan Labar
|
14–21, 19–21 | Runner-up
|
[7] |
| 2025 | Northern Marianas Open | Hiroki Nishi
|
Haruki Kawabe Kenta Matsukawa
|
21–15, 23–25, 21–13 |  Winner
|
[13][14] |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
References
- ^ "Kakeru KUMAGAI | Profile". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "熊谷 翔 BIPROGYバドミントンチーム" (in Japanese). BIPROGY Inc. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (12 October 2019). "Vitidsarn Avenges Defeat – World Juniors: Quarterfinals". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 21 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Indonesia Masters 2023 - Sabar/Reza Kuasai Podium Teratas" (in Indonesian). Djarum Badminton. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "【日本代表情報】2023年の日本代表およびスタッフが正式決定！" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "4/1（月）に熊谷 翔選手、沖本 優大選手、谷岡 大后選手、坂井 叶選手が加入しました" (in Japanese). BIPROGY Inc. 1 April 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ a b Hirata, Noriyasu. "結果 カザフスタンインターナショナルチャレンジ2024" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ a b Hashimoto, Hirokatsu. "Odisha Masters 2024 | Result" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Announcement of the 2025 Japan National Team Players and Staff" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Odisha Masters 2024 Men's Doubles: Kakeru Kumagai and Hiroki Nishi (Ryukoku University) runners-up!" (in Japanese). Biprogy. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Japan Dominates Finals at CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open". Badminton Oceania. 11 August 2025. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ Sablan Jr., James (12 August 2025). "Japan sweeps Crowne Plaza badminton titles". Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
External links
- Kakeru Kumagai at BWFBadminton.com
- Kakeru Kumagai at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (archived)