Yudai Okimoto: Difference between revisions

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| bgcolor=”#afeeee” | [[2025 Syed Modi International|”’1R”’]]

| bgcolor=”#afeeee” | ”’1R”’ (’25)

| bgcolor=”#afeeee” | ”’1R”’ (’25)

| <ref name=”syedmodi25″>{{cite web |last1=Igarashi |first1=Yu |title=Syed Modi India International 2025 {{!}} Results |url=https://www.badminton.or.jp/games/2025/SyedModiIndiaInternational2025.html#day2 |website=Badminton Association of Japan |access-date=2 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251202054708/https://www.badminton.or.jp/games/2025/SyedModiIndiaInternational2025.html#day2 |archive-date=2 December 2025 |language=ja |date=1 December 2025}}</ref>

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| align=”left” | [[Guwahati Masters]]

| align=”left” | [[Guwahati Masters]]

Japanese badminton player (born 2005)

Badminton player

Yūdai Okimoto
Country Japan
Born (2005-05-28) 28 May 2005 (age 20)
Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 62 kg (137 lb)
Handedness Right
Coach Kazumasa Sakai
Career record 92 wins, 22 losses (80.70%)
Highest ranking 43 (11 November 2025)
Current ranking 47 (2 December 2025)
BWF profile

Yudai Okimoto (沖本 優大, Okimoto Yūdai; born 28 May 2005) is a Japanese badminton player.[1][2] He is a member of the Japanese national team and plays for the BIPROGY team.[3] As a junior, he won a team gold medal and a boys’ singles silver medal at the 2023 Asian Junior Championships. He won his first senior international title at the 2024 Finnish International. On the World Tour, his best achievement is a runner-up finish at the 2025 Korea Masters, a Super 300 tournament.

Early life

Born and raised in Hiroshima, Okimoto was primarily interested in baseball. An avid fan of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, he played third base in a youth league. His childhood dream was to become a professional baseball player. His idol was not a badminton star but Carp infielder Tetsuya Kokubo.[4][5]

Okimoto began playing badminton at age six and pursued it alongside baseball. He spent his weekends practicing badminton on Saturday mornings and playing baseball in the afternoons.[4][5] A turning point occurred when he won the All-Japan Elementary School Championships for three consecutive years, beginning in 2015, while training with the Hara Junior Club. Following these achievements, he decided to focus exclusively on badminton.[6] He credits his baseball background, particularly playing third base, for contributing to his defensive instincts and shoulder strength in badminton. His court movement is described as reminiscent of a baseball infielder’s.[7]

Career

Junior career

Okimoto moved from Hiroshima to Saitama Prefecture, where he attended Saitama Sakae Junior and Senior High Schools, recognized for their strong badminton programs.[5] In his final year of high school in 2023, he achieved a triple crown at the National High School Invitational Tournament by winning the team, boys’ singles, and boys’ doubles events.[8] He also won the boys’ singles and doubles titles at the National High School Championships (Inter-High).[9]

In 2023, Okimoto won back-to-back titles on the European junior circuit, defeating Hu Zhe’an in the Dutch Junior International final and Eogene Ewe in the German Junior final.[10][11] He also contributed to Japan’s mixed team gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships — the country’s first in 11 years — and earned a silver medal in the boys’ singles after losing to Hu Zhe’an.[12] He concluded his junior career at the World Junior Championships, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Ayush Shetty.[13]

Senior career

In 2023, while still in high school, Okimoto was selected for the Japanese national B team, playing men’s doubles with Daigo Tanioka.[4] On their World Tour debut at the Indonesia Masters Super 100 I, they defeated former world No. 1 Tan Wee Kiong and his partner, Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub.

Okimoto began his professional career on 1 April 2024, joining the BIPROGY Badminton Team and shifting his focus to men’s singles.[3] That year, he won his first senior international title at the Finnish International, followed by a victory at the Mauritius International and a runner-up finish at the Réunion Open.[14][15]

In 2025, Okimoto reached back-to-back finals in the Northern Mariana Islands, winning the Northern Marianas Open and finishing runner-up at the Saipan International.[16][17][18][19] He reached his first World Tour final at the Malaysia Super 100, finishing as runner-up.[20] He subsequently finished runner-up at his first Super 300 final at the Korea Masters.[21]

Achievements

Asian Junior Championships

Boys’ singles

BWF World Tour (2 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[22] 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, and the BWF Tour Super 100.[23]

Men’s singles

BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Men’s singles

  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

BWF Junior International (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Boys’ singles

  BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
  BWF Junior 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

Individual competitions

Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 10 November 2025.[32]

References

  1. ^ “Yudai OKIMOTO | Profile”. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. ^ “Yudai OKIMOTO | Profile”. Badminton Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b “Kakeru Kumagai, Yudai Okimoto, Daigo Tanioka, and Kanae Sakai joined the team on Monday, April 1st”. BIPROGY (in Japanese). 1 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Hirano, Takaya (30 March 2023). “Former baseball player and Hiroshima fan, Yudai Okimoto, who stands at just 164cm tall, wins three titles at the high school badminton tournament”. The Answer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c “Yudai OKIMOTO | Profile”. Badminton S/J League (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  6. ^ “Yudai OKIMOTO | Profile”. J Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  7. ^ Yamanobe, Kaho (10 September 2024). “The 19-Year-Old Badminton Prodigy Who Admires Shohei Ohtani: From “No. 3 Batter, Third Base” in Elementary School → To Becoming High School Badminton Champion, Yudai Okimoto’s Dream”. The Answer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  8. ^ “[2023 National High School Selection] Yudai Okimoto wins both singles and doubles! A magnificent triple crown!! (Men’s Individual Competition)”. Badminton Spirit (in Japanese). 28 March 2023. Archived from the original on 13 June 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  9. ^ “Inter-High Badminton: Saitama Sakae’s Yudai Okimoto wins a double crown in singles and doubles… ‘I wanted to make everyone on the team happy”. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  10. ^ a b “YONEX German Junior: Japan, China and Korea win” (in German). 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  11. ^ a b “Past winners: Men’s Singles”. Dutch Junior International. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  12. ^ a b c “A Special Day for Indonesia in Yogyakarta”. Badminton Asia. 16 July 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  13. ^ a b “Ayush Shetty wins bronze in BWF World Junior Championships”. Sportstar. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  14. ^ a b “Here Are The Winners Of The Yonex Finnish International Badminton”. Finnish Badminton Association (in Finnish). 28 April 2024. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  15. ^ a b Marchal, Pierre (8 July 2024). “Saint-Denis Réunion Badminton Open: An International Level”. Zinfos974 (in French). Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  16. ^ a b “Japan Dominates Finals at CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open”. Badminton Oceania. 11 August 2025. Archived from the original on 10 August 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  17. ^ a b Sablan Jr., James (12 August 2025). “Japan sweeps Crowne Plaza badminton titles”. Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  18. ^ a b “Champions Crowned at CENTURY INSURANCE Saipan International 2025 – Finals Recap”. Badminton Oceania. 16 August 2025. Archived from the original on 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  19. ^ a b Sablan Jr., James (18 August 2025). “Japan, Korea, and India claim badminton titles in Century Insurance tourney”. Marianas Variety. Archived from the original on 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  20. ^ a b c “Yudai Okimoto takes second place in the men’s singles at the Malaysian Super 100 2025!”. BIPROGY (in Japanese). 20 October 2025. Archived from the original on 26 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  21. ^ a b c “Korea Masters: Jason Teh Breaks Lean Spell”. Badminton World Federation. 9 November 2025. Archived from the original on 15 November 2025. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  22. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). “BWF Launches New Events Structure”. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  23. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). “Action-Packed Season Ahead!”. Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  24. ^ a b Zamri, Adam (19 October 2025). “Aaron-Khai Xing soar to maiden senior crown but wait continues for Ling Ching”. The Star. Archived from the original on 22 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  25. ^ “「モーリシャスインターナショナル2024」男子シングルス 沖本 優大、女子ダブルス 大澤 佳歩・⽥部 真唯（山陰合同銀行） 初優勝！” (in Japanese). BIPROGY Inc. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  26. ^ “U19 Japanese shuttlers win two titles at Dutch Junior” (in Japanese). BadPal. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  27. ^ Peter, Fabian (10 September 2022). “Juniors need a booster shot”. New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  28. ^ “A Sweet Ending to an 11-Year Wait”. Badminton Asia. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  29. ^ “[Asian Junior Championships 2023] Japan defeats host Indonesia 3-2! Becomes the Asian champion for the first time in 11 years! <Team Competition/Final>” (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  30. ^ “Korea Masters: Okimoto Surges into Final”. Badminton World Federation. 9 November 2025. Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  31. ^ Igarashi, Yu (1 December 2025). “Syed Modi India International 2025 | Results”. Badminton Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  32. ^ “Riki Takei head to head”. BWF-Tournament Software. Retrieved 26 September 2023.

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