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Akari Sato

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Akari Satō
Sato at the 2023 Kaohsiung Masters
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (2001-03-31) 31 March 2001 (age 24)
Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Retired30 June 2025[1]
HandednessRight
CoachNorio Imai
Women's & mixed doubles
Career recordXD 46 wins, 23 losses (69.23%)
WD 24 wins, 8 losses (75.00%)
Highest ranking30 (XD with Hiroki Nishi, 27 August 2024)
119 (WD with Hina Osawa, 1 April 2025)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Japan
Asia Mixed Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2025 Qingdao Mixed team
BWF profile

Akari Sato (佐藤 灯, Satō Akari; born 31 March 2001) is a former Japanese badminton player from Saitama Prefecture.[2] She was a member of the Japan national team and affiliated with ACT Saikyo.[3][4] Sato won two Super 100 titles: the Vietnam Open and the Kaohsiung Masters.

Early career

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Akari Sato began her badminton training at Hatokaya Wings, a junior club in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture. She attended Kasukabe Municipal Takesato Junior High School and Eimei High School before enrolling at Ryukoku University in April 2019.[5] During her time at university, she partnered with Rio Uemura to win the All Japan Intercollegiate Championships in women's doubles in consecutive years, 2021 and 2022. In 2022, she also teamed up with university teammate Hiroki Nishi, who was two years her junior, securing third place in the mixed doubles at the All Japan Badminton Championships.[6] This performance led to their selection for the 2023 Japan National Team (B Team), coached by Lee Wan Wah.[7] This selection marked the first time a student-athlete from the Ryukoku University Badminton Club was chosen for the national team.[8]

Career

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2023

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Following her graduation from Ryukoku University in March, Sato initially joined the Resonac badminton team in April, before transferring to the ACT Saikyo team in July of the same year.[9] In her first year on the national team, Sato and Nishi won three mixed doubles titles. They secured their first World Tour title at the Vietnam Open, defeating Thailand's Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat.[10] They then went on to win the Kaohsiung Masters, overcoming the top-seeded Indonesian duo of Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, and triumphed at the Indonesia International.[11][12] The pair also finished second in the Indonesia Masters Super 100.[13]

2024

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In 2024, Sato and Nishi won their sole mixed doubles title at the Saipan International, defeating compatriots Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara in the final.[14] They also reached the final of the All Japan Badminton Championships, where a foot injury to Sato forced their withdrawal, resulting in a runner-up finish.[15] Partnering with Maya Taguchi in women's doubles, Sato reached the semifinals of the Luxembourg Open and the Saipan International.[16][17] On the World Tour, Sato and Taguchi were defeated in the first round of the Macau Open by India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.[18]

2025

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Sato was selected for the 2025 Japan National Team in mixed doubles with Nishi.[19] She represented Japan at the Asia Mixed Team Championships in February, where the team earned a bronze medal.[20] Sato also made her debut at the Asian Championships with Nishi, reached the first round after winning their initial round-robin matches.[21] In May, Sato and Nishi secured their first national title together, winning the mixed doubles event at the Japan Ranking Circuit by defeating Olympic medalist Yuta Watanabe and Misaki Matsutomo in the final.[22] In the women’s doubles, Sato reunited with Hina Osawa, and together they won three titles: the Sri Lanka International Series, the Sri Lanka International Challenge, and the Vietnam International.[23][24][25] However, on 1 July 2025, ACT Saikyo announced Sato's retirement from professional badminton.[1] Concurrently, the Nippon Badminton Association announced her resignation from the 2025 Japan national team.[26]

Achievements

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BWF World Tour (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[27] 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.[28]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 (I) Indonesia Masters Super 100 Japan Hiroki Nishi Malaysia Yap Roy King
Malaysia Valeree Siow 		21–13, 14–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [13]
2023 Vietnam Open Super 100 Japan Hiroki Nishi Thailand Ruttanapak Oupthong
Thailand Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat 		15–21, 21–18, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [10]
2023 Kaohsiung Masters Super 100 Japan Hiroki Nishi Indonesia Dejan Ferdinansyah
Indonesia Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja 		22–20, 12–21, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [11]

BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles)

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Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2025 Sri Lanka International Japan Hina Osawa Thailand Tidapron Kleebyeesun
Thailand Nattamon Laisuan 		22–20, 15–21, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [24]
2025 Sri Lanka International Japan Hina Osawa South Korea Kim Min-ji
South Korea Kim Yu-jung 		21–19, 17–21, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [23]
2025 Vietnam International Japan Hina Osawa Chinese Taipei Hsu Ya-ching
Chinese Taipei Sung Yu-hsuan 		21–13, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [25]

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2023 (II) Indonesia International Japan Hiroki Nishi Malaysia Choong Hon Jian
Malaysia Go Pei Kee 		22–20, 18–21, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [29]
2024 Saipan International Japan Hiroki Nishi Japan Yuichi Shimogami
Japan Sayaka Hobara 		21–11, 21–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [30]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ a b "Announcement of retirement of players Akari Sato and Yui Suizu" (in Japanese). ACT Saikyo. 1 July 2025. Archived from the original on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Akari SATO | Profile". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Akari SATO | Profile" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Akari SATO | Profile" (in Japanese). ACT Saikyo. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Akari SATO | Profile" (in Japanese). Badminton S/J League. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Akari SATO | Profile" (in Japanese). J Sports. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Announcement of the players selected for the 2023 Japan National Team" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Ryukoku University Club: For the first time in the club's history, the pair of Akari Sato and Hiroki Nishi were selected for the 2023 Japanese National Badminton Team" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Announcement of the addition of Akari Sato to the team" (in Japanese). ACT Saikyo. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Linh wins Vietnam Open badminton title". Việt Nam News. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Kaohsiung Masters 2023 - Dejan/Gloria runner-up" (in Indonesian). Djarum Badminton. 1 October 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Indonesia International Challenge 2023 - Hiroki/Akari win third title" (in Indonesian). Djarum Badminton. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  13. ^ a b Boopathy, K. M. (10 September 2023). "Roy King-Valeree win first international title this year in Indonesia". The Star. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  14. ^ Gases, Leigh (17 July 2024). "Another sweep for Japan in doubles finals". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Observation Report: Monday, December 30th, 6th Day of the Tournament (Final)" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Day Four of the DOVE Saipan International 2024: Quarterfinals and Semifinals Deliver Intense Action". Badminton Oceania. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  17. ^ "Luxembourg Open 2024 review". Badminton England. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Macau Open: Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand through to pre-quarterfinals". The Bridge. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  19. ^ "2025 Japan National Team and Coaches" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  20. ^ "China Charges into BAMTC 2025 Finals After Epic Showdown Against Japan". Badminton Asia. 16 February 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Badminton Asia Championships 2025: Results, Japanese players, and performance list" (in Japanese). International Olympic Committee. 8 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  22. ^ "[Japan Ranking Circuit 2025] New champions are born in three doubles events! In mixed doubles, Hiroki Nishi and Akari Sato defeat the Olympic medalist pair! <Final results/doubles>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 24 May 2025. Archived from the original on 24 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Buwaneka claims silver at HUNDRED Series". The Sunday Times. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Malaysia's Aidil and Japan's Suizu emerge HUNDRED Challenge champs". ThePapare. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Đình Hoàng - Đình Mạnh defeated Japanese badminton players, won historic championship at Vietnam Challenge" (in Vietnamese). Tạp Chí Du Lịch TP.HCM. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  26. ^ "Press Release: Announcement of withdrawal from the 2025 Japan national team" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 1 July 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  27. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  28. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  29. ^ "Indonesia International Challenge 2023 - Japan dominates, hosts no title" (in Indonesian). Djarum Badminton. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Thrilling Conclusion: Champions Crowned at DOVE Saipan International 2024 Finals". Badminton Oceania. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
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