Kenta Nishimoto

is a Japanese badminton player who competes in men's singles. A member of the Japanese national team, he plays for the JTEKT Stingers team. He won a silver medal in the men's singles at the 2017 Summer Universiade and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Nishimoto was part of Japan winning team at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships and at the 2017 Asia Mixed Team Championships.

Career 2013: First career final In 2013, Nishimoto reached the final of the Russia Open Grand Prix tournament, and became the runner-up after being defeated by Vladimir Ivanov of Russia.

2016: Removal from national team In April 2016, amid a wider illegal casino scandal in Japanese badminton involving Kento Momota and Kenichi Tago, Nishimoto was removed from the Japanese national team by the Nippon Badminton Association and issued a stern warning after admitting that he had visited an illegal casino in Tokyo on two occasions between February and March 2015. Nishimoto stated that he had not gambled during the visits. Japanese media reported that Nishimoto had visited the casino with Tago, who had invited him to accompany him. Chuo University separately suspended Nishimoto from club activities for one month.

2017: Summer Universiade silver Nishimoto returned to the Japanese A national team for the 2017 season. In August, Nishimoto participated in the 2017 Summer Universiade, held in Taipei. He lost to Wang Tzu-wei in the final, 16–21, 15–21, clinching a silver medal.

2018: Asian Games bronze; 2 World Tour finals In January, Nishimoto reached his first BWF World Tour final, the 2018 Malaysia Masters. In the final, he lost to then-reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen in the final, 13–21, 23–21, 18–21 in three games.

Later in August, Nishimoto participated in the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta. He lost to home favourite and eventual champion Jonatan Christie in the semi-final, losing 15–21, 21–15, 19–21 in three games, winning a bronze medal.

At the end of the year, Nishimoto made it to another final, the 2018 Hong Kong Open. He lost to Korea's Son Wan-ho in the final, losing 21–14, 17–21, 13–21 in an hour and 29 minutes.

2019–2020 Kicking off the 2019 season, in March, Nishimoto made it to his first final of the year, the 2019 German Open. He lost in the final to compatriot Kento Momota in straight games, losing 10–21, 16–21.

The following year, at the 2020 Thailand Masters, Nishimoto lost to Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long in the final, losing 21–16, 13–21, 12–21 in three games.

2022: First international title In September, Nishimoto made it to his 7th career final, this time at his home event, the 2022 Japan Open. In the final, he beat 6th ranked and 3rd seed Chou Tien-chen in the final, winning 21–19, 21–23, 21–17 in rubber games. After the final, Nishimoto stated that he was "really happy" and also "a bit relieved" after clinching his first title, and thanked the home crowd for their support.

2026 Nishimoto's 2026 season was disrupted by a shoulder injury sustained during the Swiss Open in March, where he was forced to retire during his first-round match. Following the injury, the Badminton Association of Japan announced on 24 March that Nishimoto had withdrawn from the Asian Championships, with Yudai Okimoto named as his replacement. The shoulder injury also forced his withdrawal from the Thomas Cup.

Nishimoto returned to competition at the Singapore Open in late May, followed by the Indonesia Open in June, but was eliminated in the first round of both tournaments. At the Japan Open in July, he again exited in the first round, losing to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan. Afterward, Nishimoto stated that although his shoulder had considerably improved and was not the cause of his defeat, he had yet to regain his match sharpness because he had played substantially fewer matches than in the previous season. At the World Championships in August, he advanced past the first round by defeating fifth seed Christo Popov of France in straight games.

Achievements Asian Games Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia Jonatan Christie 15–21, 21–15, 19–21 Bronze Bronze

Summer Universiade Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan Wang Tzu-wei 16–21, 15–21 Silver Silver

BWF World Tour (3 titles, 8 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 singles Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Malaysia Masters Super 500 Viktor Axelsen 13–21, 23–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2018 Hong Kong Open Super 500 Son Wan-ho 21–14, 17–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2019 German Open Super 300 Kento Momota 10–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2020 Thailand Masters Super 300 Ng Ka Long 21–16, 13–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2022 Japan Open Super 750 Chou Tien-chen 21–19, 21–23, 21–17 Winner 2023 Spain Masters Super 300 Kanta Tsuneyama 15–21, 21–18, 21–19 Winner 2023 Hong Kong Open Super 500 Jonatan Christie 21–12, 20–22, 18–21 Runner-up 2023 China Masters Super 750 Kodai Naraoka 13–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300 Chi Yu-jen 22–20, 12–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2025 Canada Open Super 300 Victor Lai 21–13, 21–14 Winner 2025 Japan Masters Super 500 Kodai Naraoka 11–21, 21–10, 15–21 Runner-up

BWF Superseries (1 runner-up) The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, 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. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 French Open Srikanth Kidambi 14–21, 13–21 Runner-up BWF World 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 singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2013 Russian Open Vladimir Ivanov 17–21, 21–15, 14–21 Runner-up BWF Grand Prix tournament