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 34) 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 retired Japanese badminton player who was affiliated with Unisys badminton team. She is an Olympic Games gold medalist, two-time Asian Champion, two-time Asian Games silver medalist, and World Championship bronze medalist.

Playing for the Unisys team with her regular partner Misaki Matsutomo in the women's doubles, she won five National Championships titles. In the international event, Takahashi and Matsutomo were ranked world number ones in October 2014. They won numerous international titles, including the year-end tournament finals in 2014 and 2018; the historical All England Open in 2016; the Olympic Games in 2016; and also the Asian Championships in 2016 and 2017. The duo won the Badminton World Federation's Female Player of the Year award in 2016.

Takahashi was also a member of the victorious Japanese team at the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships and of the victorious women's team at the 2018 Asia Team Championships, 2018 Asian Games, and the 2018 Uber Cup.

Career

In 2016, Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo won the women's doubles gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, became the first ever Japan's to win an Olympic badminton gold medal. She and her women's doubles partner Matsutomo also honored with the Female Player of the Year award. They are playing together for more than ten years, ever since they were schoolmates. Takahashi and Matsutomo became the first pair from outside China to win the women's Olympic doubles title since the 1996 Atlanta Games, giving Japan its second medal in the event after Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa took silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Takahashi announced her retirement in an online conference on 19 August 2020, and officially left the national and Unisys team at the end of August.

Personal life

Takahashi is the older sister of Sayaka Takahashi, a singles badminton player. In 2020, Ayaka announced that she had married Yuki Kaneko, a teammate in both the Japanese national and Unisys teams. Kaneko is also Matsutomo's mixed doubles partner.

Awards and nominations

Achievements

Olympic Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Riocentro - Pavilion 4, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	18–21, 21–9, 21–19	Gold

BWF World Championships

Women's doubles

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

Asian Games

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea	Misaki Matsutomo	Nitya Krishinda Maheswari Greysia Polii	15–21, 9–21	Silver
2018	Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	20–22, 20–22	Silver

Asian Championships

Women's doubles

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

BWF World Tour (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Misaki Matsutomo	Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu	21–17, 21–12	1 Winner
2018	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	21–12, 21–12	1 Winner
2018	Thailand Open	Super 500	Misaki Matsutomo	Greysia Polii Apriyani Rahayu	13–21, 10–21	2 Runner-up
2018	China Open	Super 1000	Misaki Matsutomo	Mayu Matsumoto Wakana Nagahara	21–16, 21–12	1 Winner
2018	Korea Open	Super 500	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota	21–11, 21–18	1 Winner
2018	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Misaki Matsutomo	Lee So-hee Shin Seung-chan	21–12, 22–20	1 Winner
2019	Indonesia Masters	Super 500	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim So-yeong Kong Hee-yong	21–19, 21–15	1 Winner
2019	German Open	Super 300	Misaki Matsutomo	Du Yue Li Yinhui	20–22, 15–21	2 Runner-up
2019	New Zealand Open	Super 300	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim So-yeong Kong Hee-yong	15–21, 18–21	2 Runner-up
2019	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota	16–21, 18–21	2 Runner-up
2019	China Open	Super 1000	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	14–21, 18–21	2 Runner-up
2019	Korea Masters	Super 300	Misaki Matsutomo	Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida	21–15, 17–21, 18–21	2 Runner-up

BWF Superseries (9 titles, 13 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Denmark Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Ma Jin Tang Jinhua	8–21, 12–21	2 Runner-up
2013	Malaysia Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Bao Yixin Tian Qing	16–21, 14–21	2 Runner-up
2013	Singapore Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei	19–21, 16–21	2 Runner-up
2014	Malaysia Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Bao Yixin Tang Jinhua	19–21, 21–14, 13–21	2 Runner-up
2014	Japan Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Reika Kakiiwa Miyuki Maeda	21–13, 21–17	1 Winner
2014	Australian Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei	15–21, 9–21	2 Runner-up
2014	Denmark Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Wang Xiaoli Yu Yang	14–21, 14–21	2 Runner-up
2014	Hong Kong Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei	13–21, 13–21	2 Runner-up
2014	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Misaki Matsutomo	Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei	21–17, 21–14	1 Winner
2015	India Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Luo Ying Luo Yu	21–19, 21–19	1 Winner
2015	Singapore Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Ou Dongni Yu Xiaohan	17–21, 16–21	2 Runner-up
2015	China Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–18, 13–21, 12–21	2 Runner-up
2016	All England Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–10, 21–12	1 Winner
2016	India Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Naoko Fukuman Kurumi Yonao	21–18, 21–18	1 Winner
2016	Singapore Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Nitya Krishinda Maheswari Greysia Polii	Walkover	2 Runner-up
2016	Indonesia Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–15, 8–21, 21–15	1 Winner
2016	Japan Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	21–19, 18–21, 12–21	2 Runner-up
2016	Denmark Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Jung Kyung-eun Shin Seung-chan	19–21, 21–11, 21–16	1 Winner
2016	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Misaki Matsutomo	Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan	15–21, 21–13, 17–21	2 Runner-up
2017	Singapore Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	18–21, 21–14, 15–21	2 Runner-up
2017	Australian Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Christinna Pedersen Kamilla Rytter Juhl	21–10, 21–13	1 Winner
2017	Japan Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Kim Ha-na Kong Hee-yong	21–18, 21–16	1 Winner

     BWF Superseries Finals tournament

     BWF Superseries Premier tournament

     BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (7 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

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	1 Winner
2011	Russian Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Valeri Sorokina Nina Vislova	20–22, 18–21	2 Runner-up
2012	U.S. Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Valeri Sorokina Nina Vislova	21–19, 21–17	1 Winner
2012	Canada Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Yuriko Miki Koharu Yonemoto	21–15, 15–21, 21–12	1 Winner
2012	Indonesia Grand Prix Gold	Misaki Matsutomo	Eom Hye-won Jang Ye-na	21–12, 12–21, 21–13	1 Winner
2014	German Open	Misaki Matsutomo	Jung Kyung-eun Kim Ha-na	23–21, 24–22	1 Winner
2016	Malaysia Masters	Misaki Matsutomo	Tang Yuanting Yu Yang	21–18, 22–20	1 Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Canada Open	Ryota Taohata	Takeshi Kamura Koharu Yonemoto	21–14, 21–16	1 Winner

     BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

     BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles, 2 runners-up)

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Waikato International	Sayaka Sato	21–11, 17–21, 28–26	1 Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Smiling Fish International	Koharu Yonemoto	Megumi Taruno Oku Yukina	15–21, 20–22	2 Runner-up
2008	Waikato International	Koharu Yonemoto	Renee Flavell Rachel Hindley	21–18, 21–19	1 Winner
2008	North Shore City International	Koharu Yonemoto	Renee Flavell Rachel Hindley	21–9, 21–15	1 Winner
2009	Osaka International	Misaki Matsutomo	Kaori Mori Aya Wakisaka	21–16, 16–21, 24–22	1 Winner
2009	Belgian International	Misaki Matsutomo	Emma Mason Samantha Ward	21–8, 18–21, 21–13	1 Winner
2010	Osaka International	Misaki Matsutomo	Mizuki Fujii Reika Kakiiwa	19–21, 16–21	2 Runner-up

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

National team

• Senior level

Team events	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Asia Team Championships	N/A				Silver	N/A	Gold	N/A	A
Asia Mixed Team Championships	N/A					Gold	N/A	A	N/A
Asian Games	N/A		Bronze	N/A			Gold	N/A
Uber Cup	Bronze	N/A	Silver	N/A	Bronze	N/A	Gold	N/A
Sudirman Cup	N/A	QF	N/A	Silver	N/A	Bronze	N/A	Silver	N/A

Individual competitions

• Senior level

Events	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Asian Championships	R1	A	R1	A	Bronze	Gold	Gold	Silver	R1
Asian Games	N/A			Silver	N/A			Silver	N/A
World Championships	R3	N/A	R2	R3	R3	N/A	Bronze	R3	QF
Olympic Games	N/A	A	N/A			Gold	N/A

Tournament	2018	2019	2020	Best
BWF World Tour
Malaysia Masters	QF	SF	QF	W (2016)
Indonesia Masters	W	W	SF	W (2012, 2018, 2019)
German Open	w/d	F	N/A	W (2014)
All England Open	QF	R1	SF	W (2016)
Singapore Open	A	R2	Ret	F (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Australian Open	A	SF		W (2017)
Korea Open	W	QF		W (2018)
China Open	W	F		W (2018)
Japan Open	R2	SF		W (2014, 2017)
Denmark Open	R2	R1		W (2016)
French Open	QF	R2		SF (2016)
New Zealand Open	A	F		F (2019)
Fuzhou China Open	SF	R2		SF (2018)
Hong Kong Open	QF	QF		F (2017)
Indonesia Open	SF	F		W (2016)
Syed Modi International	R1	A		W (2009)
Malaysia Open	W	R2		W (2018)
Korea Masters	A	F		F (2019)
India Open	A			W (2015, 2016)
Thailand Open	F	QF		F (2018)
BWF World Tour Finals	W	DNQ		W (2014, 2018)
Year-end Ranking	2	4	7	1
Tournament	2018	2019	2020	Best

Tournament	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best
BWF Superseries
All England Open	A		R1 (WD)	R2 (WD)	R2 (WD)	R1 (WD)	SF	R1	W	R2	W (2016)
Swiss Open	A		R1 (WD) R1 (XD)	GPG							R2 (2011, 2012)
India Open	GPG			R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	QF (WD)	SF (WD)	QF	W	W	A	W (2015, 2016)
Malaysia Open	A		R1 (WD) R1 (XD)	R2 (WD)	A	F (WD)	F	R1	QF	SF	F (2013, 2014)
Singapore Open	A		R1 (WD)	R2 (WD)	R2 (WD)	F (WD)	SF	F	F	F	F (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Australian Open	IS	GP/GPG					F	SF	QF	W	W (2017)
Indonesia Open	A		R1 (WD)	R1 (WD) R1 (XD)	A	QF (WD)	R2	R2	W	R1	W (2016)
Japan Open	R2 (WD)	R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	R2 (WD)	R1 (WD)	R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	SF (WD) QF (XD)	W	R2	F	W	W (2014, 2017)
China Open	A		QF (WD) R2 (XD)	QF (WD)	QF (WD)	QF (WD)	SF	F	R2	QF	F (2015)
Korea Open	A		QF (WD) R1 (XD)	R2 (WD)	A	QF (WD)	QF	w/d	A	SF	SF (2017)
Denmark Open	A		R2 (WD)	QF (WD)	F (WD)	SF (WD)	F	R2	W	R2	W (2016)
French Open	A			R1 (WD)	QF (WD)	QF (WD)	QF	R2	SF	QF	SF (2016)
China Masters	A	R1 (WS) R1 (WD)	A	R1 (WD) R2 (XD)	A	QF (WD) R1 (XD)	GPG				QF (2013)
Hong Kong Open	A			R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	QF (WD)	SF (WD)	F	QF	QF	R1	F (2017)
BWF Super Series Finals	DNQ				GS (WD)	GS (WD)	W	SF	F	DNQ	W (2014)
Year-end Ranking		172 (WS) 41 (WD) 138 (XD)	21 (WD) 70 (XD)	17 (WD) 52 (XD)	7 (WD) 119 (XD)	4 (WD) 216 (XD)	2	4	1	2	1 (WD)
Tournament	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best

Tournament	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best
BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold
Malaysia Masters	A	R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	R1 (WD)	A				W	A	W (2016)
Syed Modi International	R1 (WS) W (WD)	A			N/A	A				W (2009)
German Open	A		R2 (WD) R2 (XD)	QF (WD)	SF (WD)	W	R2	SF	A	W (2014)
Swiss Open	SS		R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	R2 (WD) R1 (XD)	A					R2 (2011, 2012)
India Open	R1 (WS) R2 (WD)	A	SS							R2 (2009)
Thailand Open	R1 (WS) QF (WD)	N/A	A			N/A	A			QF (2009)
Dutch Open	A	R1 (WD)	A							R1 (2010)
Australian Open	A	QF (WD) SF (XD)	QF (WD) R2 (XD)	QF (WD) R1 (XD)	A	SS				SF (2010)
Chinese Taipei Open	R1 (WD)	A					SF	A		SF (2015)
Russian Open	A		F (WD)	A						F (2011)
U.S. Open	A		R1 (WD) R1 (XD)	W (WD) QF (XD)	A					W (2012)
Canada Open	N/A	A		W (WD) W (XD)	A					W (2012 (WD), 2012 (WD))
Indonesian Masters	N/A	A		W (WD)	A				N/A	W (2012)
Tournament	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	Best

Record against selected opponents

Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists.

Misaki Matsutomo

Players M W L Diff. Leanne Choo & Renuga Veeran 1 1 0 +1 Chen Qingchen & Jia Yifan 11 5 6 –1 Du Jing & Yu Yang 1 0 1 –1 Du Yue & Li Yinhui 10 6 4 +2 Luo Ying & Luo Yu 9 7 2 +5 Ma Jin & Tang Jinhua 4 0 4 –4 Ma Jin & Wang Xiaoli 1 0 1 –1 Tang Yuanting & Yu Yang 5 3 2 +1 Tian Qing & Zhao Yunlei 15 6 9 –3 Wang Xiaoli & Yu Yang 5 1 4 –3 Cheng Wen-hsing & Chien Yu-chin 3 0 3 –3 Christinna Pedersen & Kamilla Rytter Juhl 17 11 6 +5 Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponnappa 3 3 0 +3 Nitya Krishinda Maheswari & Greysia Polii 6 3 3 0 Greysia Polii & Apriyani Rahayu 12 10 2 +8 Mizuki Fujii & Reika Kakiiwa 6 2 4 –2

Players M W L Diff. Naoko Fukuman & Kurumi Yonao 11 10 1 +9 Yuki Fukushima & Sayaka Hirota 11 4 7 –3 Reika Kakiiwa & Miyuki Maeda 5 5 0 +5 Miyuki Maeda & Satoko Suetsuna 3 1 2 –1 Mayu Matsumoto & Wakana Nagahara 8 4 4 0 Shiho Tanaka & Koharu Yonemoto 8 5 3 +2 Vivian Hoo Kah Mun & Woon Khe Wei 11 11 0 +11 Chin Eei Hui & Wong Pei Tty 1 0 1 –1 Eefje Muskens & Selena Piek 6 6 0 +6 Valeria Sorokina & Nina Vislova 2 1 1 0 Chang Ye-na & Lee So-hee 4 4 0 +4 Eom Hye-won & Chang Ye-na 2 2 0 +2 Ha Jung-eun & Kim Min-jung 4 0 4 –4 Jung Kyung-eun & Shin Seung-chan 7 5 2 +3 Lee So-hee & Shin Seung-chan 13 7 6 +1

See also

In Spanish: Ayaka Takahashi para niños