Akira Koga

is a Japanese badminton player who competes in doubles. He plays for the JTEKT badminton team and is a member of the Japanese national team. He was a member of the Japanese junior team that won a gold medal at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships and a silver medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships. In his senior career, Koga has primarily competed in men's doubles with his partner Taichi Saito. He won a silver medal with the Japanese team at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, and has won multiple bronze medals at the Thomas Cup and the Asian Games.

Early career Junior career Koga began playing badminton during elementary school in his hometown of Fukuoka, influenced by his parents; his father coached a junior team, and his mother had played at the university level. He later attended Saitama Sakae Junior and Senior High Schools. During his junior career, he won several national titles, including the doubles title at the 2008 All Japan Junior High School Championships and the 2010 JOC Junior Olympic Cup. In 2011, he won the singles title at the National High School Championships (Inter-High), defeating Kento Momota in the final.

In 2012, he contributed to Japan's first mixed team title at the Asian Junior Championships and a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. In the World Junior team final against China, he and partner Akane Yamaguchi lost the decisive mixed doubles match 22–24 in the third game to Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen.

University career From 2012 to 2016, Koga studied at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University, where he formed a men's doubles partnership with fellow student Taichi Saito. The pair won the All Japan Inter-Collegiate Championships three times (2012, 2013, and 2015).

Career 2016: Competition suspension After graduating from Waseda University in 2016, Koga joined the NTT East badminton team. In April, amid an illegal gambling scandal involving fellow NTT East players Kento Momota, Kenichi Tago and several other players, Koga was removed from the Japanese national team and suspended from competition for one year by the Nippon Badminton Association for his involvement in illegal gambling. His suspension was set to run until April 2017.

2017–2024: Partnership with Taichi Saito Following his suspension, Koga resumed his senior career with Taichi Saito. The pair won consecutive national titles at the Japan Ranking Circuit in 2017 and 2018 and secured their first international title at the 2018 South Australia International.

2026: First Super 300 title Koga formed a new mixed doubles partnership with Natsu Saito. The pair made their international debut at the season-opening Malaysia Open, where they reached the second round, before advancing to the semifinals of the Thailand Masters. In July, the pair won the Canada Open, marking Koga's first Super 300 title.

Achievements BWF World Tour (2 titles, 4 runners-up) The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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.

Men's doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2019 Orléans Masters Super 100 Taichi Saito Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin 21–16, 20–22, 15–21 Runner-up 2019 Akita Masters Super 100 Taichi Saito Ou Xuanyi Zhang Nan 14–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2019 Indonesia Masters Super 100 Taichi Saito Ou Xuanyi Zhang Nan 21–11, 10–21, 20–22 Runner-up 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300 Taichi Saito Choong Hon Jian Muhammad Haikal 21–18, 18–21, 16–21 Runner-up

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Kaohsiung Masters Super 100 Yuho Imai Wu Hsuan-yi Yang Chu-yun 16–21, 21–13, 21–15 Winner 2026 Canada Open Super 300 Natsu Saito Liu Kuang-heng Hsu Yin-hui 21–17, 17–21, 21–17 Winner 2025 Northern Marianas International Naoya Kawashima Kim Jae-hyeon Lee Sang-won 16–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2025 Saipan International Naoya Kawashima Haruki Kawabe Kenta Matsukawa 15–13, 15–12 Winner

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2025 Mexican International Yuho Imai Davi Silva Sânia Lima 15–8, 9–15, 15–9 Winner 2025 Northern Marianas International Yuho Imai Kim Jae-hyeon Kim Min-ji 13–21, 21–16, 18–21 Runner-up BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

Record against selected opponents Record against year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 23 August 2026.

Taichi Saito

Players He Jiting & Tan Qiang 1 0 1 –1 Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen 1 0 1 –1 Liang Weikeng & Wang Chang 2 1 1 0 Liu Yuchen & Ou Xuanyi 6 1 5 –4 Lee Jhe-huei & Yang Po-hsuan 2 0 2 –2 Lee Yang & Wang Chi-lin 6 1 5 –4 Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 3 1 2 –1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty 4 2 2 0 Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan 3 0 3 –3 Fajar Alfian & Muhammad Rian Ardianto 6 1 5 –4 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon & Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 2 0 2 –2

Players Takeshi Kamura & Keigo Sonoda 2 0 2 –2 Takuro Hoki & Yugo Kobayashi 6 2 4 –2 Aaron Chia & Soh Wooi Yik 9 4 5 –1 Goh Sze Fei & Nur Izzuddin 4 3 1 +2 Goh V Shem & Tan Wee Kiong 1 0 1 –1 Ong Yew Sin & Teo Ee Yi 2 0 2 –2 Kang Min-hyuk & Seo Seung-jae 2 0 2 –2 Ko Sung-hyun & Shin Baek-cheol 6 1 5 –4 Bodin Isara & Maneepong Jongjit 1 0 1 –1 Supak Jomkoh & Kittinupong Kedren 1 1 0 +1

Natsu Saito

Players Feng Yanzhe & Huang Dongping 2 0 2 –2 Guo Xinwa & Chen Fanghui 1 0 1 –1 Amri Syahnawi & Nita Violina Marwah 1 0 1 –1