Takuro Hoki

2011–2013

Hoki made his international debut at the 2011 Osaka International, reaching the second round in men's doubles with Keiichiro Matsui.^[6] In July 2013, he helped the Japanese team win a bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships in Kota Kinabalu, where he also advanced to the second round in both boys' doubles with Yugo Kobayashi and mixed doubles with Wakana Nagahara.^[7][8]

Hoki made his senior Super Series debut at the Japan Open in September 2013. Competing in men's doubles, he and Kobayashi advanced to the second round, while in the mixed doubles, he and Ayako Sakuramoto were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei. Returning to the junior competition at the World Junior Championships the following month, Hoki helped the Japanese team achieve a fourth-place finish in the mixed team event.^[9] In the individual events, he and Kobayashi were defeated in the first round of the boys' doubles by the Chinese pair, Huang Kaixiang and Zheng Siwei, while Hoki and Rena Miyaura reached the third round in mixed doubles.^[10]

2014–2015

Continuing their men's doubles partnership, Hoki and Kobayashi secured their first international title at the USA International in October 2014, defeating the Canadian pair of Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng in the final. At the same tournament, Hoki also advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Kurumi Yonao.^[11] In 2015, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open in June and the Chinese Taipei Masters in October. In September 2015, the pair competed at the Japan Open, where they were eliminated in the first round.

2016

In May 2016, Hoki represented Japan at the Thomas Cup, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals.^[12] The following month, Hoki and Kobayashi won the men's doubles title at the Spanish International by defeating the Danish pair Mathias Christiansen and David Daugaard in the final.^[13] In July, the duo reached the U.S. Open final but finished as runners-up after losing a three-game match to the Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen.^[14] They went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Korea Open in September. In October, they made their Super Series Premier debut at the Denmark Open, reaching the second round. The following month, at the China Open, they defeated the third seeds Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in the first round to reach the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated by the Indonesian pair Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon.^[15][16]

2017

In early 2017, Hoki represented Japan at the inaugural Asia Mixed Team Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, helping the team win the gold medal.^[17][18] He also competed at the Sudirman Cup in Gold Coast that year, contributing to Japan's bronze medal finish.^[19] Hoki and Kobayashi reached the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Asian Championships in April and the semifinals of the Korea Open in September.^[20][21] In mixed doubles, Hoki partnered with Sayaka Hirota to advance to the final of the Japan Open in September, where they finished as runners-up to the Chinese pair Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping.^[22] The pair later reached the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open.^[23] Hoki and Kobayashi concluded their season at the Super Series Finals in December, where they were eliminated during the round-robin stage.

2018

In August 2018, Hoki competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta, where he reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals alongside Koharu Yonemoto. He also helped the Japanese men's team win a bronze medal, marking Japan's first medal in this event at the Asian Games in 48 years.^[24][25] Hoki and Kobayashi advanced to the final of the Super 500 Korea Open in September, finishing as runners-up to the fellow Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe in a three-game match.^[26] The duo also progressed to the quarterfinals at both the Japan Open in September and the Denmark Open in October.^[27] In the second half of the year, Hoki formed a new mixed doubles partnership with Wakana Nagahara. Together, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open in October and the Hong Kong Open in November.^[28]

2019

In March, Hoki represented Japan at the Asia Mixed Team Championships in Hong Kong, where the team won a silver medal.^[29] In May, he contributed to the Japanese team's silver medal finish at the Sudirman Cup in Nanning.^[30] On the World Tour, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of the Malaysia Open in April and the Indonesia Open in July.^[31][32] In August, at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, the duo advanced to the men's doubles final after defeating the defending champions, the Chinese pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, in the semifinals.^[33] They won the silver medal after a three-game match against the Indonesian pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.^[34] Meanwhile, Hoki and Nagahara reached a career-high mixed doubles world ranking of 19 in July and advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open in October.^[35]

2020

In January, Hoki and Nagahara advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters, following a second-round victory over the fourth-seeded Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.^[36] Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the men's doubles quarterfinals at the Thailand Masters.^[37] In February, Hoki competed at the Asia Team Championships in Manila, helping the Japanese men's team secure a bronze medal.^[38] Following a second-round exit at the All England Open in March, the remainder of the 2020 tournament calendar was largely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021

Following his first-round exit from the All England Open in March, Hoki represented Japan at major international team events in September and October. He helped the team earn a silver medal at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa and a bronze medal at the Thomas Cup in Aarhus. In October, Hoki and Kobayashi won their first BWF World Tour title at the Super 1000 Denmark Open, defeating the Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the final.^[39] During the Indonesian leg of the World Tour in November, they claimed the Super 750 Indonesia Masters title by overcoming the Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.^[40] The following week, they advanced to the final of the Super 1000 Indonesia Open but finished as runners-up to the same Indonesian pair.^[41] The pair won two historic titles in December. They won the season-ending World Tour Finals by again defeating Gideon and Sukamuljo in the final, becoming the first Japanese men's doubles pair to win the event.^[42][43] Shortly thereafter, Hoki and Kobayashi claimed the gold medal at the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, by defeating the Chinese pair, He Jiting and Tan Qiang. With this victory, they became the first Japanese men's doubles pair to win a world championship.^[34]

2022

In the first half of 2022, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the quarterfinals of the German Open, the All England Open, and the Asian Championships.^[44] In May, Hoki represented Japan at the Thomas Cup, where the team earned a bronze medal.^[45] Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi won their first title of the season at the Super 500 Thailand Open after their opponents, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, retired during the first game of the final.^[46] Following a quarterfinal appearance at the Indonesia Open in mid-June, the duo won the Super 750 Malaysia Open, again defeating Alfian and Ardianto in the final.^[47] After reaching the quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters^[48] and the World Championships^[49], Hoki and Kobayashi attained the world number-one ranking in men's doubles on 20 September 2022, becoming the first Japanese men's doubles pair to reach that position.^[50] They concluded the year by reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open and the Hylo Open, and were eliminated in the round-robin stage of the season-ending World Tour Finals.^[51]

2023

Hoki and Kobayashi claimed the Singapore Open title by defeating Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the final.^[52] They also finished as runners-up at both the Japan Open and the Australian Open and earned a bronze medal at the Asian Championships.^[53][54][55] The pair advanced to the semifinals of the China Open,^[56] the Malaysia Masters,^[57] and the Indonesia Masters.^[58] In team events, Hoki contributed to Japan's bronze medal finishes at both Sudirman Cup^[59] and the Asian Games.^[60] Their performance over the season qualified them for the World Tour Finals in December, where they were eliminated in the group stage.^[61][62]

2024

During the first half of the 2024 season, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of four Super 750 and Super 1000 events: the Malaysia Open,^[63] India Open,^[64] French Open,^[65] and All England Open.^[66] They also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Championships in April and represented Japan at the Thomas Cup, where the Japanese team reached the quarterfinals.^[67] At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the pair were eliminated in the round-robin stage of the men's doubles event. In the latter half of the year, they reached the quarterfinals of both the Denmark Open and the China Masters. In November, they advanced to their first final of the year at the Japan Masters, finishing as runners-up to the Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.^[68]

2025

Hoki and Kobayashi began their 2025 season in April, following Kobayashi's recovery from a knee injury.^[69] They returned to competition at the Asian Championships, where they were eliminated in the first round.^[70] In May, Hoki represented Japan at the Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, helping the team secure a bronze medal.^[71] Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters.^[72] They subsequently advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open in June and the World Championships in August, before reaching the semifinals of the Korea Open in September.^[73][74] In October, they secured their first title of the year at the Super 750 Denmark Open. During the tournament, they defeated the Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the semifinals—their first victory over the pair in six years.^[75] They claimed the title by overcoming the Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.^[69]

2026

In January, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open and the India Open.^[76][77] The following month, Hoki was part of the Japanese squad that won Japan's first men's team title at the Asia Team Championships in Qingdao.^[78] Later in the season, Hoki and Kobayashi advanced to the second round of both the All England Open in March and the Asian Championships in April.^[79][80]

World Championships

Men's doubles

More information Year, Venue ...

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2019	St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland	Yugo Kobayashi	Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan	23–25, 21–9, 15–21	Silver	[85]
2021	Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín, Huelva, Spain	Yugo Kobayashi	He Jiting Tan Qiang	21–12, 21–18	Gold	[34]

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Asian Championships

Men's doubles

More information Year, Venue ...

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2023	Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Yugo Kobayashi	Ong Yew Sin Teo Ee Yi	16–21, 24–26	Bronze	[55]

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BWF World Tour (7 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[86] 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.^[87]

Men's doubles

More information Year, Tournament ...

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2018	Korea Open	Super 500	Yugo Kobayashi	Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe	21–9, 15–21, 10–21	Runner-up	[26]
2021	Denmark Open	Super 1000	Yugo Kobayashi	Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen	21–18, 21–12	Winner	[39]
2021	Indonesia Masters	Super 750	Yugo Kobayashi	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	21–11, 17–21, 21–19	Winner	[40]
2021	Indonesia Open	Super 1000	Yugo Kobayashi	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	14–21, 18–21	Runner-up	[41]
2021	BWF World Tour Finals	World Tour Finals	Yugo Kobayashi	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	21–16, 13–21, 21–17	Winner	[42]
2022	Thailand Open	Super 500	Yugo Kobayashi	Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto	13–4 retired	Winner	[46]
2022	Malaysia Open	Super 750	Yugo Kobayashi	Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto	24–22, 16–21, 21–9	Winner	[47]
2023	Singapore Open	Super 750	Yugo Kobayashi	Liang Weikeng Wang Chang	21–13, 21–18	Winner	[52]
2023	Japan Open	Super 750	Yugo Kobayashi	Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin	19–21, 13–21	Runner-up	[53]
2023	Australian Open	Super 500	Yugo Kobayashi	Kang Min-hyuk Seo Seung-jae	17–21, 17–21	Runner-up	[54]
2024	Japan Masters	Super 500	Yugo Kobayashi	Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto	15–21, 21–17, 17–21	Runner-up	[68]
2025	Denmark Open	Super 750	Yugo Kobayashi	Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri	21–18, 15–21, 21–19	Winner	[69]

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BWF Superseries (1 runner-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[88] 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.^[89] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Mixed doubles

More information Year, Tournament ...

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2017	Japan Open	Sayaka Hirota	Wang Yilyu Huang Dongping	13–21, 8–21	Runner-up	[22][90]

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  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (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.

Men's doubles

More information Year, Tournament ...

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2016	U.S. Open	Yugo Kobayashi	Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen	11–21, 20–22	Runner-up	[14]

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  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles)

Men's doubles

More information Year, Tournament ...

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result	Ref
2014	USA International	Yugo Kobayashi	Adrian Liu Derrick Ng	21–17, 21–19	Winner	[11]
2016	Spanish International	Yugo Kobayashi	Mathias Christiansen David Daugaard	21–10, 21–6	Winner	[13]

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  BWF International Challenge tournament