Minoru Koga

is a Japanese badminton player who competes in singles. He is a former member of the Japanese national team (2018–2022) and is currently affiliated with the AC Nagano Parceiro Badminton Club. During his childhood, he faced health challenges, including asthma, pneumonia, and severe food allergies. With dietary management supported by his parents, he developed a tactical playing style to compensate for his smaller stature. In 2011, while a second-year student at Tomioka Daiichi Junior High School in Fukushima Prefecture, he was practicing when the ceiling lights fell due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. He temporarily evacuated to his hometown in Fukuoka, but the local community prepared a new practice environment for him in Inawashiro just two months later. Deeply motivated to bring hope to the disaster-stricken region, he went on to sweep five titles at the national junior high school championships.

Junior career Koga won national singles titles across all three major junior age divisions: the All Japan Elementary School Championships (2008), the All Japan Junior High School Championships (2011), and the National High School Championships (Inter-High) (2014). At the 2014 Inter-High, he defeated Kanta Tsuneyama in the singles final and led Tomioka High School to the team title. Internationally, Koga partnered with Akane Yamaguchi to win the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2013 Asian Youth Games.

Collegiate career In 2015, Koga enrolled at Waseda University to study sport sciences. He won back-to-back men's singles titles at the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships in 2017 and 2018. In his final year, he captained the Waseda team to a national intercollegiate team title.

Career 2018–2021: First international title In 2018, while still a university student, Koga was selected for the Japanese national B team for the first time. Following his graduation, Koga joined the NTT East badminton team on 1 April 2019. However, his international career was temporarily suspended when overseas expeditions were halted for about two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestically, Koga won the All Japan Members Championships in 2019 and the Japan Ranking Circuit in 2021.

2022–2024: Five international titles and world top 60 In 2022, Koga resumed international competition, winning the Mexican International in April.

In 2024, competing as a non-national team player, Koga participated in only three tournaments, successfully defending his Malaysia International title. This transition allowed him to independently acquire sponsors to cover his international travel and tournament fees. By the end of 2025, his world ranking had improved from No. 284 in August to No. 86.

2026 Koga began 2026 by winning consecutive titles at the Estonian International and the Swedish Open, defeating Denmark's Mads Christophersen in both finals. In May, Koga reached the semi-finals of the Baoji China Masters, where he lost to his compatriot Riki Takei. He achieved a new career-high ranking of world No. 49 in June 2026.

Personal life His elder brother, Akira Koga, is also a badminton player affiliated with JTEKT Stingers.

BWF World Tour (1 runner-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 Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.

Men's singles Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Canada Open Super 100 Lu Guangzu 15–21, 10–21 Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (10 titles, 3 runners-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2019 Slovenian International Sourabh Verma 17–21, 12–21 Runner-up 2019 Lao International Kodai Naraoka 20–22, 20–22 Runner-up 2019 Swedish Open Loh Kean Yew 21–11, 21–15 Winner 2022 Mexican International Jonathan Matias 10–21, 22–20, 21–13 Winner 2023 Thailand International Chi Yu-jen 15–21, 21–17, 22–20 Winner 2023 Malaysia International Takuma Kawamoto 21–17, 10–21, 21–11 Winner 2023 Bahrain International Riki Takei 11–21, 21–15, 21–18 Winner 2024 Malaysia International Riku Hatano 21–19, 15–21, 21–11 Winner 2025 Lagos International Prahdiska Bagas Shujiwo 17–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2025 Slovenia Future Series Cholan Kayan 21–17, 24–22 Winner 2025 Belgian International Julien Carraggi 21–14, 22–20 Winner 2026 Estonian International Mads Christophersen 21–18, 11–21, 21–12 Winner 2026 Swedish Open Mads Christophersen 21–16, 16–21, 21–18 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament BWF Future Series tournament

Performance timeline

National team Junior level

Record against selected opponents Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 29 July 2026.

Player Matches Win Lost Shi Yuqi 1 0 1 –1 Zhao Junpeng 1 1 0 +1 Christo Popov 1 1 0 +1 Prannoy H. S. 1 0 1 –1 Kodai Naraoka 1 0 1 –1

Player Matches Win Lost Lee Zii Jia 1 0 1 –1 Loh Kean Yew 1 1 0 +1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn 1 1 0 +1 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 1 1 0 +1 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 1 1 0 +1