Ayaka Takahashi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ayaka Takahashi
Takahashi at the 2013 French Super Series
Personal information
Born	(1990-04-19) 19 April 1990 (age 35) Kashihara, Nara, Japan
Height	1.64 m
Country	Japan
Handedness	Right
Women's doubles
Highest Ranking	1 (with Misaki Matsutomo, 20 October 2014)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Japan Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Women's doubles World Championships Bronze 2017 Glasgow Women's doubles Sudirman Cup Silver 2015 Donggguan Mixed team Silver 2019 Nanning Mixed team Bronze 2017 Gold Coast Mixed team Uber Cup Gold 2018 Bangkok Women's team Silver 2014 New Delhi Women's team Bronze 2012 Wuhan Women's team Bronze 2016 Kunshan Women's team Asian Games Gold 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Women's team Silver 2014 Incheon Women's doubles Silver 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Women's doubles Bronze 2014 Incheon Women's team Asian Championships Gold 2016 Wuhan Women's doubles Gold 2017 Wuhan Women's doubles Silver 2018 Wuhan Women's doubles Bronze 2015 Wuhan Women's doubles Asia Mixed Team Championships Gold 2017 Ho Chi Minh Mixed team Asia Team Championships Gold 2018 Alor Setar Women's team Silver 2016 Hyderabad Women's team

Ayaka Takahashi (高橋 礼華, Takahashi Ayaka, born 19 April 1990) is a famous Japanese badminton player. She used to play for the Unisys badminton team. Ayaka is a true champion! She won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. She also became an Asian Champion two times. Plus, she earned two silver medals at the Asian Games and a bronze medal at the World Championship.

Ayaka played women's doubles with her partner, Misaki Matsutomo. They were an amazing team! Together, they won five National Championships in Japan. In October 2014, they were even ranked as the number one women's doubles team in the world! They won many big international tournaments. These included the year-end finals in 2014 and 2018. They also won the famous All England Open in 2016. The biggest win was the Olympic Games in 2016. They also won the Asian Championships in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, the Badminton World Federation gave them the Female Player of the Year award.

Ayaka was also part of winning Japanese teams. She helped Japan win the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships. She was also on the women's team that won the 2018 Asia Team Championships. They also won gold at the 2018 Asian Games and the 2018 Uber Cup.

Ayaka's Amazing Career

In 2016, Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo made history. They won the gold medal in women's doubles at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was the first time Japan had ever won an Olympic badminton gold medal! Because of their great success, they also received the Female Player of the Year award.

Ayaka and Misaki had been playing together for over ten years. They started as schoolmates and became a super strong team. They were the first pair from outside China to win the women's Olympic doubles title since 1996. This gold medal was Japan's second medal in the event. Before them, Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa won silver at the 2012 London Olympics.

Ayaka announced that she was retiring from badminton on August 19, 2020. She officially left the national and Unisys teams at the end of August that year.

Ayaka's Life Outside Badminton

Ayaka Takahashi has a younger sister, Sayaka Takahashi. Sayaka is also a badminton player, but she plays singles. In 2020, Ayaka shared some happy news. She married Yuki Kaneko. Yuki was also a teammate on both the Japanese national and Unisys teams. Interestingly, Yuki Kaneko is also Misaki Matsutomo's mixed doubles partner. On February 23, 2022, Ayaka announced on Instagram that she had welcomed her first child, a daughter.

Awards and Special Honors

Ayaka Takahashi received several important awards for her achievements:

• In 2016, she and Misaki Matsutomo won the BWF Female Player of the Year.
• Also in 2016, she was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon. This special medal is given by the Emperor of Japan for individual sports achievements.
• The Nara Prefectural Honour Award was given to her in 2016 for her success as an athlete.

Major Tournament Wins

Olympic Games Gold

Ayaka Takahashi won a gold medal at the Olympics in women's doubles.

Year	Location	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	18–21, 21–9, 21–19	Gold

World Championships Bronze

She also earned a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Year	Location	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Glasgow, Scotland	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	17–21, 15–21	Bronze

Asian Games Silver Medals

Ayaka won two silver medals at the Asian Games.

Year	Location	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Incheon, South Korea	Misaki Matsutomo	Nitya Krishinda Maheswari Greysia Polii	15–21, 9–21	Silver
2018	Jakarta, Indonesia	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	20–22, 20–22	Silver

Asian Championships Medals

Ayaka has won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Asian Championships.

Year	Location	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Wuhan, China	Misaki Matsutomo	Wang Xiaoli Yu Yang	18–21, 21–18, 15–21	Bronze
2016	Wuhan, China	Misaki Matsutomo	Naoko Fukuman Kurumi Yonao	21–13, 21–15	Gold
2017	Wuhan, China	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim Hye-rin Yoo Hae-won	21–19, 16–21, 21–10	Gold
2018	Wuhan, China	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota	18–21, 21–18, 15–21	Silver

BWF World Tour Wins

The BWF World Tour is a series of top badminton tournaments. Ayaka and Misaki won many of these.

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Indonesia Masters	Misaki Matsutomo	Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu	21–17, 21–12	Winner
2018	Malaysia Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	21–12, 21–12	Winner
2018	China Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara	21–16, 21–12	Winner
2018	Korea Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota	21–11, 21–18	Winner
2018	BWF World Tour Finals	Misaki Matsutomo	Lee So-hee Shin Seung-chan	21–12, 22–20	Winner
2019	Indonesia Masters	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim So-yeong Kong Hee-yong	21–19, 21–15	Winner

BWF Superseries Wins

The BWF Superseries was another series of important badminton tournaments.

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Japan Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Reika Kakiiwa Miyuki Maeda	21–13, 21–17	Winner
2014	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Misaki Matsutomo	Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei	21–17, 21–14	Winner
2015	India Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Luo Ying Luo Yu	21–19, 21–19	Winner
2016	All England Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–10, 21–12	Winner
2016	India Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Naoko Fukuman Kurumi Yonao	21–18, 21–18	Winner
2016	Indonesia Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–15, 8–21, 21–15	Winner
2016	Denmark Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Jung Kyung-eun Shin Seung-chan	19–21, 21–11, 21–16	Winner
2017	Australian Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	21–10, 21–13	Winner
2017	Japan Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim Ha-na Kong Hee-yong	21–18, 21–16	Winner

BWF Grand Prix Wins

The BWF Grand Prix tournaments were also important events in badminton. Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2009	India Grand Prix	Misaki Matsutomo	Nadya Melati Devi Tika Permatasari	21–14, 15–21, 21–15	Winner
2012	U.S. Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Valeri Sorokina Nina Vislova	21–19, 21–17	Winner
2012	Canada Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuriko Miki Koharu Yonemoto	21–15, 15–21, 21–12	Winner
2012	Indonesia Grand Prix Gold	Misaki Matsutomo	Eom Hye-won Jang Ye-na	21–12, 12–21, 21–13	Winner
2014	German Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Jung Kyung-eun Kim Ha-na	23–21, 24–22	Winner
2016	Malaysia Masters	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–18, 22–20	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Canada Open	Ryota Taohata	Takeshi Kamura Koharu Yonemoto	21–14, 21–16	Winner

BWF International Challenge/Series Wins

Ayaka also won some smaller international tournaments. Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Waikato International	Sayaka Sato	21–11, 17–21, 28–26	Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2008	Waikato International	Koharu Yonemoto	Renee Flavell Rachel Hindley	21–18, 21–19	Winner
2008	North Shore City International	Koharu Yonemoto	Renee Flavell Rachel Hindley	21–9, 21–15	Winner
2009	Osaka International	Misaki Matsutomo	Kaori Mori Aya Wakisaka	21–16, 16–21, 24–22	Winner
2009	Belgian International	Misaki Matsutomo	Emma Mason Samantha Ward	21–8, 18–21, 21–13	Winner

Images for kids

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  Bronze medal

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  Silver medal

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  Gold medal

See also

In Spanish: Ayaka Takahashi para niños