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Draft:Riki Takei

Riki Takei (武井 凜生, Takei Riki, born 21 July 2003) is a Japanese badminton player from Tokyo and a member of the Japan national team.[2] He is the 2017 Asian Junior U-15 champion in the Men's singles. After graduating from Futaba Mirai Gakuen High School, Takei began playing for the NTT East Badminton Team on 1 April 2022.[3]

Early career

Riki Takei's badminton career began at the age of five at the Ome Junior badminton club in Tokyo. He won a national elementary school championship title in fourth grade and was subsequently selected for the U13 National Development Squad. Takei then progressed through Japan's junior development system, attending Inawashiro Junior High School and later Futaba Mirai Gakuen High School in Fukushima, an institution known for its badminton program. In his first year of high school, he finished as the runner-up in the men's singles at the All Japan Junior Badminton Championships.

In 2017, Takei won the men's singles title at the Badminton Asia U15 Junior Championships. The following year, in 2018, he won the men's singles title at the All Japan Junior High School Badminton Championships. His success continued in 2021, his final year of high school. He partnered with Seiya Hagiwara to win the men's doubles title at the All Japan High School Athletic Federation Tournament (Inter-High). Takei was also part of the Futaba Mirai Gakuen High School team that won the Inter-High Team Championship that year. In the same year, he won the men's singles title at the All Japan Junior Badminton Championships and finished third in the men's doubles at the same event.Takei transitioned to his senior career by joining the NTT East corporate team in 2022.

Career

Takei participated in the All Japan Badminton Championships in Tokyo from 25-30 December 2024. In the second round of the men's singles event, he defeated Kenta Nishimoto.[4] Takei credits his victory to the coaching of Kento Momota, a retired national team player who had been training him for the previous six months.[5] Takei progressed to the finals by defeating Riku Hatano in the quarterfinals[6] and advancing due to Koki Watanabe's injury withdrawal in the semifinals[7]. The men's singles final featured a match between Takei and Yushi Tanaka, both of whom were coached by Momota. Tanaka won the final, making Takei the runner-up in the tournament.[8]. By reaching the final, Takei secured a position on the 2025 Japanese national team.[9]

Personal life

Riki Takei is the younger brother of Yuta Takei.[10] Takei announced his marriage on his Instagram, stating that he and his partner registered their marriage on 6 June 2024.[11]

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 titles, 1 runner-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 Thailand International South Korea Heo Kwang-hee 17–21, 22–20, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [12]
2023 Bahrain International Japan Minoru Koga 21–11, 15–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [13]
  BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# A G S B NH N/A DNQ
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze medal; (NH) not held; (N/A) not applicable; (DNQ) did not qualify.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

National team

  • Junior level
Team events 2019 Ref
World Junior Championships B

Individual competitions

  • Junior level
Events 2019 Ref
World Junior Championships 2R
  • Senior level
Tournament BWF World Tour Best Ref
2024
Baoji China Masters 3R 3R ('24)
Year-end ranking 279 142
Tournament 2024 Best Ref

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 26 September 2023.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Announcement of the 2025 Japan National Team Players and Staff" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Riki TAKEI | Profile". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  3. ^ "選手・スタッフ紹介：バドミントン部" (in Japanese). [NTT東日本シンボルチーム].
  4. ^ "[All Japan Badminton Championships 2024] Riki Takei defeats Kenta Nishimoto to advance to the quarterfinals! Kodai Naraoka, Koki Watanabe and others also advance to the quarterfinals! <2nd Round/Men's Singles Results>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. ^ "[All Japan Badminton Championships 2024] "I have overcome one of the most difficult stages. I am still not satisfied and want to aim higher." (Riki Takei) <Player's Comments/Day 3-8>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  6. ^ "[All Japan Badminton Championships 2024] Kodai Naraoka, who is aiming for his first victory, wins 2-0! Riki Takei, who is on a roll, also advances to the semifinals! <Quarterfinals/Men's Singles Results>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 28 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  7. ^ "All Japan Badminton Championships 2024 Semifinals Report" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  8. ^ "[Badminton] Kento Momota's junior showdown with Yushi Tanaka wins" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  9. ^ "[All Japan Badminton Championships 2024] "My recent playing style is to be patient and play long rallies one at a time. I hope you enjoy that." (Riki Takei) <Player Comments/Semi-Final-12>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Riki Takei profile". Badminton S/J League. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  11. ^ @riki_takei (6 June 2024). "6 June 2024: We got married!". Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ "Thailand International Series ไทยชวดแชมป์" (in Thai). Badminton Thai Today. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  13. ^ Sipra, Adnan (27 November 2023). "Koga rallies to down Takei in thriller for men's singles title". Gulf Digital News. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Riki Takei head to head". BWF-Tournament Software. Retrieved 26 September 2023.