Takuro Hoki

is a Japanese badminton player who competes in men's doubles. A former world number one in men's doubles, he is a member of the Japanese national team and plays for the Tonami Transportation team. Partnering with Yugo Kobayashi, Hoki has achieved multiple historic milestones for Japanese badminton. They became the first Japanese men's doubles pair to win the World Championships, securing gold in 2021 after a silver-medal finish in 2019. The duo was also the first men's doubles pair from Japan to win the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals and to attain the world number-one ranking (20 September 2022). Together, they have won multiple BWF World Tour titles and competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In team events, Hoki has helped Japan win silver and bronze medals at the Sudirman Cup, Thomas Cup, and Asian Games. He was also a member of the squads that won gold at the inaugural Asia Mixed Team Championships in 2017, and Japan's first men's team title at the Asia Team Championships in 2026.

Career 2011–2013 Hoki made his international debut at the 2011 Osaka International, reaching the second round in men's doubles with Keiichiro Matsui. In July 2013, he helped the Japanese team win a bronze medal at the Asian Junior Championships in Kota Kinabalu, where he also advanced to the second round in both boys' doubles with Yugo Kobayashi and mixed doubles with Wakana Nagahara.

Hoki made his senior Super Series debut at the Japan Open in September 2013. Competing in men's doubles, he and Kobayashi advanced to the second round, while in the mixed doubles, he and Ayako Sakuramoto were eliminated in the first round by the eventual champions, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei. Returning to the junior competition at the World Junior Championships the following month, Hoki helped the Japanese team achieve a fourth-place finish in the mixed team event. In the individual events, he and Kobayashi were defeated in the first round of the boys' doubles by the Chinese pair, Huang Kaixiang and Zheng Siwei, while Hoki and Rena Miyaura reached the third round in mixed doubles.

2014–2015 Continuing their men's doubles partnership, Hoki and Kobayashi secured their first international title at the USA International in October 2014, defeating the Canadian pair of Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng in the final. At the same tournament, Hoki also advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Kurumi Yonao. The following month, Hoki and Kobayashi won the men's doubles title at the Spanish International by defeating the Danish pair Mathias Christiansen and David Daugaard in the final.

2017 In early 2017, Hoki represented Japan at the inaugural Asia Mixed Team Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, helping the team win the gold medal. He also competed at the Sudirman Cup in Gold Coast that year, contributing to Japan's bronze medal finish. Hoki and Kobayashi reached the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Asian Championships in April and the semifinals of the Korea Open in September. In mixed doubles, Hoki partnered with Sayaka Hirota to advance to the final of the Japan Open in September, where they finished as runners-up to the Chinese pair Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping. Hoki and Kobayashi concluded their season at the Super Series Finals in December, where they were eliminated during the round-robin stage.

2018 In August 2018, Hoki competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta, where he reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals alongside Koharu Yonemoto. He also helped the Japanese men's team win a bronze medal, marking Japan's first medal in this event at the Asian Games in 48 years. Hoki and Kobayashi advanced to the final of the Super 500 Korea Open in September, finishing as runners-up to the fellow Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe in a three-game match. In the second half of the year, Hoki formed a new mixed doubles partnership with Wakana Nagahara. Together, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open in October and the Hong Kong Open in November.

2019 In March, Hoki represented Japan at the Asia Mixed Team Championships in Hong Kong, where the team won a silver medal. In May, he contributed to the Japanese team's silver medal finish at the Sudirman Cup in Nanning. On the World Tour, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of the Malaysia Open in April and the Indonesia Open in July. In August, at the World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, the duo advanced to the men's doubles final after defeating the defending champions, the Chinese pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, in the semifinals. They won the silver medal after a three-game match against the Indonesian pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.

2020 In January, Hoki and Nagahara advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters, following a second-round victory over the fourth-seeded Thai pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai. Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the men's doubles quarterfinals at the Thailand Masters. In February, Hoki competed at the Asia Team Championships in Manila, helping the Japanese men's team secure a bronze medal. Following a second-round exit at the All England Open in March, the remainder of the 2020 tournament calendar was largely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 Following his first-round exit from the All England Open in March, Hoki represented Japan at major international team events in September and October. He helped the team earn a silver medal at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa and a bronze medal at the Thomas Cup in Aarhus. In October, Hoki and Kobayashi won their first BWF World Tour title at the Super 1000 Denmark Open, defeating the Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the final. Shortly thereafter, Hoki and Kobayashi claimed the gold medal at the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, by defeating the Chinese pair, He Jiting and Tan Qiang. With this victory, they became the first Japanese men's doubles pair to win a world championship. In May, Hoki represented Japan at the Thomas Cup, where the team earned a bronze medal. Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi won their first title of the season at the Super 500 Thailand Open after their opponents, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, retired during the first game of the final. and the World Championships , Hoki and Kobayashi attained the world number-one ranking in men's doubles on 20 September 2022, becoming the first Japanese men's doubles pair to reach that position. They concluded the year by reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open and the Hylo Open, and were eliminated in the round-robin stage of the season-ending World Tour Finals.

2023 Hoki and Kobayashi claimed the Singapore Open title by defeating Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the final. the Malaysia Masters, and the Indonesia Masters. In team events, Hoki contributed to Japan's bronze medal finishes at both Sudirman Cup and the Asian Games. Their performance over the season qualified them for the World Tour Finals in December, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

2024 During the first half of the 2024 season, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of four Super 750 and Super 1000 events: the Malaysia Open, India Open, French Open, and All England Open. They also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Championships in April and represented Japan at the Thomas Cup, where the Japanese team reached the quarterfinals. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the pair were eliminated in the round-robin stage of the men's doubles event. In the latter half of the year, they reached the quarterfinals of both the Denmark Open and the China Masters. In November, they advanced to their first final of the year at the Japan Masters, finishing as runners-up to the Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. In May, Hoki represented Japan at the Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, helping the team secure a bronze medal. Later that month, Hoki and Kobayashi reached the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters. They subsequently advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open in June and the World Championships in August, before reaching the semifinals of the Korea Open in September. In October, they secured their first title of the year at the Super 750 Denmark Open. During the tournament, they defeated the Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the semifinals—their first victory over the pair in six years. They claimed the title by overcoming the Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. The following month, Hoki was part of the Japanese squad that won Japan's first men's team title at the Asia Team Championships in Qingdao. Later in the season, Hoki and Kobayashi advanced to the second round of both the All England Open in March and the Asian Championships in April.

Personal life Hoki married former NTT East badminton player Rira Kawashima in February 2020. They have three children: a son named Minato (born 8 April 2021), a daughter named Toa (born 9 June 2023), and a third child named Aoto (born 15 April 2026).

Records First Japanese men's doubles pair to win gold at the BWF World Championships (2021, partnered with Yugo Kobayashi).

Asian Championships Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2023 Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall,Dubai, United Arab Emirates Yugo Kobayashi Ong Yew Sin Teo Ee Yi 16–21, 24–26 Bronze Bronze

BWF World Tour (7 titles, 5 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 Tours are 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 2018 Korea Open Super 500 Yugo Kobayashi Hiroyuki Endo Yuta Watanabe 21–9, 15–21, 10–21 Runner-up 2021 Denmark Open Super 1000 Yugo Kobayashi Kim Astrup Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21–18, 21–12 Winner 2021 Indonesia Masters Super 750 Yugo Kobayashi Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21–11, 17–21, 21–19 Winner 2021 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Yugo Kobayashi Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 14–21, 18–21 Runner-up 2021 BWF World Tour Finals World Tour Finals Yugo Kobayashi Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21–16, 13–21, 21–17 Winner 2022 Thailand Open Super 500 Yugo Kobayashi Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto 13–4 retired Winner 2022 Malaysia Open Super 750 Yugo Kobayashi Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto 24–22, 16–21, 21–9 Winner 2023 Singapore Open Super 750 Yugo Kobayashi Liang Weikeng Wang Chang 21–13, 21–18 Winner 2023 Japan Open Super 750 Yugo Kobayashi Lee Yang Wang Chi-lin 19–21, 13–21 Runner-up 2023 Australian Open Super 500 Yugo Kobayashi Kang Min-hyuk Seo Seung-jae 17–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2024 Japan Masters Super 500 Yugo Kobayashi Fajar Alfian Muhammad Rian Ardianto 15–21, 21–17, 17–21 Runner-up 2025 Denmark Open Super 750 Yugo Kobayashi Fajar Alfian Muhammad Shohibul Fikri 21–18, 15–21, 21–19 Winner

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.

Mixed doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2017 Japan Open Sayaka Hirota Wang Yilyu Huang Dongping 13–21, 8–21 Runner-up BWF 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 doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2016 U.S. Open Yugo Kobayashi Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen 11–21, 20–22 Runner-up BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles) Men's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2014 USA International Yugo Kobayashi Adrian Liu Derrick Ng 21–17, 21–19 Winner 2016 Spanish International Yugo Kobayashi Mathias Christiansen David Daugaard 21–10, 21–6 Winner BWF International Challenge 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.

Yugo Kobayashi

Players Chai Biao & Hong Wei 1 0 1 –1 Chen Boyang & Liu Yi 5 5 0 +5 He Jiting & Tan Qiang 7 2 5 –3 Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen 7 2 5 –3 Liang Weikeng & Wang Chang 10 5 5 0 Liu Cheng & Zhang Nan 5 2 3 –1 Liu Yuchen & Ou Xuanyi 5 2 3 –1 Chen Hung-ling & Wang Chi-lin 2 2 0 +2 Lee Jhe-huei & Yang Po-hsuan 5 1 4 –3 Lee Yang & Wang Chi-lin 9 4 5 –1 Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 16 8 8 0 Mathias Boe & Carsten Mogensen 5 1 4 –3 Marcus Ellis & Chris Langridge 1 0 1 –1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty 7 2 5 –3 Mohammad Ahsan & Rian Agung Saputro 1 0 1 –1 Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan 6 3 3 0

Players Fajar Alfian & Muhammad Rian Ardianto 9 4 5 –1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon & Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 15 4 11 –7 Hiroyuki Endo & Yuta Watanabe 3 2 1 +1 Takeshi Kamura & Keigo Sonoda 7 2 5 –3 Aaron Chia & Soh Wooi Yik 12 9 3 +6 Goh Sze Fei & Nur Izzuddin 6 3 3 0 Goh V Shem & Tan Wee Kiong 2 1 1 0 Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong 1 0 1 –1 Ong Yew Sin & Teo Ee Yi 11 9 2 +7 Vladimir Ivanov & Ivan Sozonov 3 0 3 –3 Kang Min-hyuk & Seo Seung-jae 9 3 6 –3 Kim Gi-jung & Kim Sa-rang 1 1 0 +1 Kim Won-ho & Seo Seung-jae 6 0 6 –6 Ko Sung-hyun & Shin Baek-cheol 1 0 1 –1 Bodin Isara & Maneepong Jongjit 1 0 1 –1 Supak Jomkoh & Kittinupong Kedren 3 3 0 +3

Wakana Nagahara

Players Wang Yilyu & Huang Dongping 1 0 1 –1 Zhang Nan & Li Yinhui 1 1 0 +1 Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong 3 0 3 –3 Chris Adcock & Gabrielle Adcock 1 0 1 –1 Marcus Ellis & Lauren Smith 1 0 1 –1 Mark Lamsfuß & Isabel Lohau 1 1 0 +1 Tang Chun Man & Tse Ying Suet 1 0 1 –1

Players Tontowi Ahmad & Liliyana Natsir 1 0 1 –1 Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti 1 0 1 –1 Yuta Watanabe & Arisa Higashino 5 2 3 –1 Chan Peng Soon & Goh Liu Ying 3 0 3 –3 Seo Seung-jae & Chae Yoo-jung 2 0 2 –2 Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai 1 1 0 +1

Sayaka Hirota Players Wang Yilyu & Huang Dongping 1 0 1 –1 Zhang Nan & Li Yinhui 1 0 1 –1 Mark Lamsfuß & Isabel Lohau 1 1 0 +1 Lee Chun Hei & Chau Hoi Wah 1 1 0 +1 Praveen Jordan & Debby Susanto 1 0 1 –1 Kenta Kazuno & Ayane Kurihara 1 1 0 +1

Koharu Yonemoto Players Wang Yilyu & Huang Dongping 1 0 1 –1 Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong 1 0 1 –1 Tang Chun Man & Tse Ying Suet 1 0 1 –1 Praveen Jordan & Melati Daeva Oktavianti 1 0 1 –1 Yuta Watanabe & Arisa Higashino 1 0 1 –1

Ayako Sakuramoto Players Zhang Nan & Zhao Yunlei 1 0 1 –1