Wakana Nagahara
Japanese badminton player
Badminton player
Wakana Nagahara (永原 和可那 , Nagahara Wakana , born 9 January 1996) is a Japanese badminton player.[ 1] She is a two-time world champion in the women's doubles. Nagahara attended Aomori Yamada High School, and was part of the Japanese national junior team that won the bronze medals at the 2013 , 2014 Asian and 2014 World Junior Championships . She won her first senior international title at the 2014 Smiling Fish International in the women's doubles event partnered with Mayu Matsumoto .[ 2] In national events, she plays for the Hokuto Bank team.[ 3] Nagahara was awarded as the 2018 Most Improved Player of the Year by the BWF together with her partner Mayu Matsumoto . They obtained the honour after winning the 2018 BWF World Championships title and improving their ranking from 14 to 3 in the world.[ 4] On 30 April 2019, she reached a career high as the women's doubles world No. 1.
Career
2021
In March, Nagahara and her partner Mayu Matsumoto won their first World Tour Super 1000 title in the All England Open defeating their compatriots, the defending champion, and current world number 1, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the final.[ 5] She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics partnering Matsumoto as 3rd seeds, and her pace was stopped by Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea in the quarter-finals.[ 6]
Achievements
BWF World Championships
Women's doubles
Year
Venue
Partner
Opponent
Score
Result
2018
Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park , Nanjing , China
Mayu Matsumoto
Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota
19–21, 21–19, 22–20
Gold
2019
St. Jakobshalle , Basel , Switzerland
Mayu Matsumoto
Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota
21–11, 20–22, 23–21
Gold
2021
Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marín , Huelva , Spain
Mayu Matsumoto
Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan
15–21, 12–21
Bronze
2022
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium , Tokyo , Japan
Mayu Matsumoto
Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan
13–21, 14–21
Bronze
Asian Championships
Women's doubles
BWF World Tour (5 titles, 10 runners-up)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[ 7] 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[ 8]
Women's doubles
Year
Tournament
Level
Partner
Opponent
Score
Result
2018
Indonesia Open
Super 1000
Mayu Matsumoto
Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota
14–21, 21–16, 14–21
Runner-up
2018
Spain Masters
Super 300
Mayu Matsumoto
Ayako Sakuramoto Yukiko Takahata
21–17, 21–13
Winner
2018
China Open
Super 1000
Mayu Matsumoto
Misaki Matsutomo Ayaka Takahashi
16–21, 12–21
Runner-up
2018
French Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva
21–14, 21–19
Winner
2018
Fuzhou China Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Lee So-hee Shin Seung-chan
21–23, 18–21
Runner-up
2019
All England Open
Super 1000
Mayu Matsumoto
Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan
21–18, 20–22, 11–21
Runner-up
2019
Singapore Open
Super 500
Mayu Matsumoto
Kim Hye-jeong Kong Hee-yong
21–17, 22–20
Winner
2019
Japan Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Kim So-yeong Kong Hee-yong
12–21, 12–21
Runner-up
2019
BWF World Tour Finals
World Tour Finals
Mayu Matsumoto
Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan
14–21, 10–21
Runner-up
2020
Denmark Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota
10–21, 21–16, 18–21
Runner-up
2021
All England Open
Super 1000
Mayu Matsumoto
Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota
21–18, 21–16
Winner
2022
Thailand Open
Super 500
Mayu Matsumoto
Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida
21–17, 15–21, 24–26
Runner-up
2022
French Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Pearly Tan Thinaah Muralitharan
19–21, 21–18, 15–21
Runner-up
2023
Canada Open
Super 500
Mayu Matsumoto
Nami Matsuyama Chiharu Shida
20–22, 16–21
Runner-up
2024
India Open
Super 750
Mayu Matsumoto
Zhang Shuxian Zheng Yu
21–12, 21–13
Winner
BWF Grand Prix (2 titles, 4 runners-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.
Women's doubles
Mixed doubles
BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)
Women's doubles
BWF International Challenge tournament
BWF International Series tournament
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
A
G
S
B
NH
N/A
DNQ
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze medal; (NH) not held; (N/A) not applicable; (DNQ) did not qualify.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
National team
Individual competitions
Senior level
Women's doubles
Mixed doubles
References
External links
2016 : Chen Yufei , He Bingjiao , Luo Ying , Luo Yu , Sun Yu , Tang Yuanting , Tian Qing , Wang Shixian , Yu Yang , Zhao Yunlei (CHN)
2018 : Yuki Fukushima , Sayaka Hirota , Misaki Matsutomo , Aya Ohori , Nozomi Okuhara , Sayaka Sato , Ayaka Takahashi , Shiho Tanaka , Akane Yamaguchi , Koharu Yonemoto (JPN)
2020 : Yuki Fukushima , Riko Gunji , Sayaka Hirota , Mayu Matsumoto , Nami Matsuyama , Wakana Nagahara , Aya Ohori , Chiharu Shida , Sayaka Takahashi , Akane Yamaguchi (JPN)
2022 : Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma , Nita Violina Marwah , Lanny Tria Mayasari , Jesita Putri Miantoro , Saifi Rizka Nurhidayah , Bilqis Prasista , Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi , Gregoria Mariska Tunjung , Putri Kusuma Wardani , Stephanie Widjaja (INA)
2024 : Ashmita Chaliha , Tanisha Crasto , Gayatri Gopichand , Treesa Jolly , Anmol Kharb , Priya Konjengbam , Shruti Mishra , Ashwini Ponnappa , Tanvi Sharma , P. V. Sindhu (IND)