Riki Takei

is a Japanese badminton player who competes in men's singles. A member of the Japanese national team, he plays for the NTT East team and has reached a career-high world ranking of No. 57. He was the 2017 Asian Junior U-15 champion in the boys' singles. He won his first senior international title at the 2023 Thailand International and was a runner-up at the 2024 All Japan Badminton Championships. In 2026, he reached his first BWF World Tour final at the Baoji China Masters.

Early career Takei began playing badminton at age five at the Ome Junior club in Tokyo. As a fourth-grader, he won a national elementary school championship, leading to his selection for the U-13 National Development squad. He later attended Inawashiro Junior High School and the Futaba Mirai Gakuen High School.

Takei made his international debut in 2015 at the Singapore Youth International Series. He won his first junior international title in 2017 with a victory in the boys' singles at the U-15 Asian Junior Championships. That same year, he won a gold medal in boys' doubles at the Singapore Youth International with partner Shohei Noguchi. In 2018, he earned a silver medal in boys' singles at the Jakarta Open Junior International. The following year, he was part of the Japanese team that won a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Kazan.

Career After graduating from high school, Takei joined the NTT East Badminton Team on 1 April 2022. In 2023, he won his first senior international title at the Thailand International by defeating Heo Kwang-hee of South Korea in the final. His run to the final included wins over Kenta Nishimoto and Riku Hatano, and he advanced from the semifinals after Koki Watanabe withdrew due to injury. Takei attributed his performance to six months of training under former national player Kento Momota.

In 2025, Takei won the Réunion Open without dropping a single game.

In May 2026, Takei reached his first BWF World Tour final at the Super 100 Baoji China Masters, finishing runner-up to China's Sun Chao. In July, he advanced to his second World Tour final, and his first at the Super 300 level, at the Canada Open. En route, he defeated compatriot Minoru Koga in the second round and Olympic bronze medalist Lee Zii Jia in the semifinals, ultimately finishing as the runner-up after falling to Yudai Okimoto in an all-Japanese final.

Personal life Takei is the younger brother of badminton player Yuta Takei. He married on 6 June 2024, and his first child, a daughter, was born on 9 December 2024.

Achievements BWF World Tour (2 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 2026 Baoji China Masters Super 100 Sun Chao 12–21, 13–21 Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 1 runner-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2023 Thailand International Heo Kwang-hee 17–21, 22–20, 21–17 Winner 2023 Bahrain International Minoru Koga 21–11, 15–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2025 Réunion Open Rahul Bharadwaj 21–7, 21–5 Winner 2025 Saipan International Yudai Okimoto 16–14, 15–4 Winner BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

Performance timeline

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

Record against selected opponents Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 5 July 2026.

Player Matches Win Lost Lee Zii Jia 2 1 1 0 Heo Kwang-hee 1 1 0 +1 Son Wan-ho 1 1 0 +1 Nguyễn Tiến Minh 2 1 1 0