Yuta Watanabe (badminton)
Yuta Watanabe (渡辺 勇大, Watanabe Yūta, born 13 June 1997) is a badminton player from Japan.[1] He was a member of the Nihon Unisys team, and national team A representative.[2] Watanabe has collected three bronze medals at the World Junior Championships, and also four bronze at the Asian Junior Championships. Watanabe was selected to join the Japanese mixed team compete at the 2017 Sudirman Cup in Gold Coast, Australia, winning a gold medal in the qualification to Gold Coast at the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the team finished in the semi-final round, took the bronze medal. The left-handed Watanabe won the maiden Super 1000 tournament at the 2018 All England Open in the mixed doubles event partnered with Arisa Higashino.
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| Born | 13 June 1997 Suginami, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 56 kg (123 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Left | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Highest ranking | 4 (MD 5 March 2019) 3 (XD 22 November 2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 5 (MD), 5 (XD) (17 March 2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career overview
Watanabe started his career in badminton when he join the Kodaira junior club in Tokyo in 2005. He had shown his talent in badminton when he won some national event when he was in the elementary school. He made a partnership with Arisa Higashino as his senior in Tomioka Dai-ichi Junior High School in 2012.[2]
Watanabe was selected to join national junior team competed at the 2014 Asian Junior Championships, and helps the team won the mixed team bronze medal. He also settled for another bronze medal in the boys' doubles event partnered with Kenya Mitsuhashi. At the World Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia, he won the bronze medals in the mixed doubles event with Arisa Higashino and in the mixed team event.[3][4] In June 2014, he made his first appearance in the senior international event at the Japan Open, competed in the mixed doubles with Higashino, but the duo was defeated in the first round. He captured two titles at the 2014 Korea Junior Open in the boys' and mixed doubles event teamed-up with Mitsuhashi and Chiharu Shida respectively.
Watanabe started the 2015 season, by winning the boys' doubles title at the Dutch Junior tournament with Kenya Mitsuhashi, and finished as the semifinalist in the mixed doubles with Chiharu Shida, and later won the mixed doubles title in German Junior tournament. In July, he competed at the Asian Junior Championships, clinched the bronze medals in the boys' singles and mixed team events. He reached his first final in the senior international event at the 2015 Russian Open a BWF Grand Prix tournament. At the Danish Junior Cup, he clinched two titles by winning the boys' singles and doubles events. In November, he won the boys' doubles bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru.
Watanabe won his first senior international tournament at the Vietnam International Challenge in the mixed doubles event with Arisa Higashino, and also became the runner-up in the men's doubles event.[5] Together with Higashino, they reaching the 2018 All England Open final beat three top seeding, and clinched the title after beating the fifth seeded pair from China Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in the rubber game.[6]
Achievements
BWF World Championships
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland |
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11–21, 15–21 |  |
Asian Championships
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China |
|
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21–18, 21–3 |  |
BWF World Junior Championships
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Centro de Alto Rendimiento de la Videna, Lima, Peru |
|
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13–21, 16–21 | |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim, Alor Setar, Malaysia |
|
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19–21, 12–21 | |
Asian Junior Championships
Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | CPB Badminton Training Center, Bangkok, Thailand | |
10–21, 12–21 | |
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Chinese Taipei |
|
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10–21, 8–21 | |
BWF World Tour (7 titles, 7 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[7] is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour are divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[8]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | All England Open | Super 1000 | |
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21–18, 12–21, 21–19 |  |
| 2019 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | |
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22–24, 19–21 |  |
| 2019 | New Zealand Open | Super 300 | |
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22–20, 15–21, 17–21 | |
| 2019 | German Open | Super 300 | |
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15–21, 21–11, 21–12 | |
| 2018 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | |
|
15–21, 11–21 | |
| 2018 | Korea Open | Super 500 | |
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9–21, 21–15, 21–10 | |
| 2018 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | |
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17–21, 19–21 | |
| 2018 | Malaysia Open | Super 750 | |
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8–21, 10–21 | |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Hong Kong Open | Super 500 | |
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22–20, 21–16 | |
| 2019 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | |
|
22–24, 21–23 | |
| 2019 | All England Open | Super 1000 | |
|
17–21, 20–22 | |
| 2019 | Malaysia Masters | Super 500 | |
 |
21–18, 21–18 | |
| 2018 | Hong Kong Open | Super 500 | |
|
21–18, 21–14 | |
| 2018 | All England Open | Super 1000 | |
|
15–21, 22–20, 21–16 | |
BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up)
The BWF Grand Prix has two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Russian Open | |
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13–21, 21–23 | |
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 2 runners-up)
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Vietnam International | |
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19–21, 14–21 | |
| 2016 | Austrian Open | |
 |
14–21, 16–21 | |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Vietnam International | |
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21–16, 21–14 | |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
References
- "Players: Yuta Watanabe". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- "渡辺 勇大 Yuta Watanabe". www.unisys.co.jp (in Japanese). Unisys. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- "Jati BWF World Junior Championships 2014 (EYE-Level Cup)". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- "BWF World Junior Championships 2014 – Day 5: It's Eka Putri's Day". www.bwfbadminton.org. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- "Vietnam wins two gold medals at Hanoi Challenger". www.vietnambreakingnews.com. VietnamBreakingNews. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- "All England SF – A long day to the finals". Badzine.net. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. 29 November 2017.
- "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. 15 January 2018.
External links
- Yuta Watanabe at BWF.tournamentsoftware.com
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| 2010s |
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World rankings: Top ten badminton players as of March 17, 2020 | |
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