Kakeru Kumagai
Japanese badminton player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kakeru Kumagai (熊谷 翔, Kumagai Kakeru; born 5 January 2002) is a Japanese badminton player who competes in men's doubles.[1] A left-handed player, he is a member of the Japanese national team and represents the BIPROGY badminton team.[2] Partnering with Hiroki Nishi, he reached a career-high world ranking of No. 24. Kumagai won his first BWF World Tour title at the 2025 Kaohsiung Masters (Super 100), and was a member of the Japanese squad that won the country's first men's team gold medal at the 2026 Asia Team Championships. A graduate of sport science at Nihon University, Kumagai won the men's doubles title at the 2023 All Japan Inter-Collegiate Championships.
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Kumagai at the 2025 Taipei Open | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 January 2002 Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Japan |
| Sport | Badminton |
| Handedness | Left |
| Coached by | Lee Wan Wah Hiroyuki Endo |
| Men's doubles | |
| Career record | 69 wins, 34 losses (66.99%) |
| Highest ranking | 24 (with Hiroki Nishi, 14 April 2026) |
| Current ranking | 24 (with Hiroki Nishi, 14 April 2026) |
| BWF profile | |
Medal record | |
Early career
Junior career
Kumagai began playing badminton at the Sendai Yamato Junior club before attending Saint Ursula Gakuin Eichi Junior and Senior High School.[3] In 2018, he partnered with Yoshifumi Fujisawa to win the boys' doubles title at the All Japan Junior Championships.
The following year, Kumagai represented Japan at the 2019 World Junior Championships, winning a bronze medal in the mixed team event.[4] In the individual mixed doubles event, he and partner Mizuki Otake reached the quarterfinals, where they were defeated by the Chinese pair Jiang Zhenbang and Li Yijing in three games match (20–22, 21–18, 21–23).[5]
University career
Kumagai studied sport science at Nihon University.[6] Partnering with Kota Ogawa, he won the men's doubles title at the 2023 All Japan Student Championships (Inter-Collegiate). Consequently selected for the Japanese national B team, the pair made their World Tour debut at the 2023 Indonesia Masters I Super 100, finishing as runners-up.[7]
Career
2024
After graduating from university in April, Kumagai joined the BIPROGY badminton team.[8] He formed a men's doubles partnership with Hiroki Nishi, training under former national players Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa. In their debut season, the pair finished as runners-up at the Super 100 Odisha Masters and the Kazakhstan International.[9][10] Domestically, at the All Japan Corporate Team Championships, Kumagai partnered with Yuta Watanabe to defeat the former world No. 1 pair, Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, in the final. This victory secured the team title and earned the pair the Men's MVP award.[11]
2025
Kumagai and Nishi claimed their first international title as a pair at the Northern Marianas Open in August, defeating compatriots Haruki Kawabe and Kenta Matsukawa in the final.[12][13] They subsequently won their first World Tour title at the Super 100 Kaohsiung Masters.[14] The pair also finished as runners-up at the Super 100 Indonesia Masters I and reached the quarterfinals of two Super 500 tournaments: the Japan Masters and the Australian Open.[15][16][17] Following these results, they reached a career-high world ranking of No. 32 in November.
2026
Kumagai and Nishi opened the season by making their Super 1000 debut at the Malaysia Open. The pair advanced to the second round, where they were defeated by their compatriots Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi.[18] He was part of the Japanese team that won Japan's first men's team title at the Asia Team Championships. In the final against China, Kumagai and Nishi defeated He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu in three games to help secure the victory.[19] In April, Kumagai made his Asian Championships debut in Ningbo, China, partnering with Nishi in men's doubles. They defeated Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul in the first round before being eliminated in the second round by Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang.[20] Kumagai achieved a career-high world ranking of 24 on 14 April.
Achievements
BWF World Tour (1 title, 3 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was introduced on 19 March 2017 and was held in 2018,[21] 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.[22]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (I) | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 |  Kota Ogawa |
 Sabar Karyaman Gutama Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani |
18–21, 15–21 |  Runner-up |
[7] |
| 2024 | Odisha Masters | Super 100 | Hiroki Nishi |
 Huang Di Liu Yang |
13–21, 21–19, 25–27 | Runner-up |
[10] |
| 2025 (I) | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 | Hiroki Nishi |
 Jin Yong Na Sung-seung |
19–21, 21–13, 13–21 | Runner-up |
[23][15] |
| 2025 | Kaohsiung Masters | Super 100 | Hiroki Nishi |
 Su Ching-heng Wu Guan-xun |
21–18, 21–17 |  Winner |
[14] |
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 |
[9] |
| 2025 | Northern Marianas Open | Hiroki Nishi |
Haruki Kawabe Kenta Matsukawa |
21–15, 23–25, 21–13 | Winner |
[12][13] |
- BWF International Challenge tournament
Performance timeline
- Key
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |
National team
- Junior level
| Team events | 2019 | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | B | [4] |
- Senior level
| Team events | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Team Championships | NH | A | NH | G | [19] |
| Thomas Cup | NH | A | NH | 5th | [24] |
| World University Games | QF | NH | A | NH | [25] |
Individual competitions
Junior level
- Boys' doubles
| Events | 2019 |
|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | 2R |
- Mixed doubles
| Events | 2019 | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| World Junior Championships | QF | [5] |
Senior level
Men's doubles
| Events | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Championships | A | 2R | [20] | ||
| World University Games | 3R | NH | A | NH | |
| Tournament | BWF World Tour | Best | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||
| Malaysia Open | A | 2R | 2R ('26) | [18] | ||
| All England Open | A | 1R | 1R ('26) | [26] | ||
| Swiss Open | A | 2R | 2R ('26) | |||
| Ruichang China Masters | A | 2R | A | 2R ('25) | ||
| Orléans Masters | A | QF | QF ('26) | |||
| Thailand Open | A | 1R | A | 1R ('25) | ||
| Malaysia Masters | A | Q | ('26) | |||
| Singapore Open | A | Q | ('26) | |||
| Indonesia Open | A | Q | ('26) | |||
| Taipei Open | A | 1R | 1R ('25) | |||
| Macau Open | NH | A | 2R | 2R ('25) | [27] | |
| Indonesia Masters Super 100 | F | A | F | F ('23, '25) | [7][15] | |
| 2R | QF | |||||
| Kaohsiung Masters | 1R | A | W | W ('25) | [14] | |
| Malaysia Super 100 | A | SF | SF ('25) | |||
| Korea Masters | 1R | A | 1R | 1R ('23, '25) | [28] | |
| Japan Masters | 1R | A | QF | QF ('25) | [16] | |
| Australian Open | A | QF | QF ('25) | [17] | ||
| Guwahati Masters | A | QF | A | QF ('24) | ||
| Odisha Masters | A | F | A | F ('24) | [10] | |
| Year-end ranking | 82 | 108 | 34 | 24 | ||
| Tournament | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Best | Ref |
Record against selected opponents
Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 10 April 2026.[29]
Hiroki Nishi
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