Hirota Sayaka

Jayce September 6, 2024 2 0

Character Introduction

Hirota Sayaka (Japanese:ひろたさやか, August 1, 1994) is a current member of the Japan national badminton team (Team A). Her pairing with Yuki Fukushima debuted at No. 1 in the women’s doubles world rankings on June 21, 2018, the second Japanese pairing to reach No. 1 in the world rankings after Misaki Matsutomo/Reika Takahashi of the Sisters. They are known as the “Fukuhiro Team” by the media and fans.

In November 2013, the Fukuhiro team participated in the Malaysia Badminton International Challenge and made it to the semifinals.In September 2014, Ms. Hirota and Ms. Fukushima played in the Sydney Badminton International Championships. In the semifinals, they swept Ding Kexin/Tong Hao of China 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-4). In the final, they won their first international title by breezing past the multinational duo of Silvina Kurniawan/Susan Wang, 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-2).

In June 2016, Saikana Hirota switched to playing with Nabu Ono at the Spanish Open Badminton Championships, winning the women’s doubles final by defeating teammates Yuki Fukushima/Chiyo Shida of Japan 2-1 (21-14, 13-21, 21-19).

In April 2017, the Fukuhiro duo defeated China’s Huang Yaqiong/Tong Jinhua 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 21-12) in the final of Malaysia’s premier badminton premier superseries, winning their first top-tier tournament title since the pair teamed up, while the pair reached the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time.

At the end of 2017, Fuguang was selected as the “WBF Progressive Athlete of the Year”.

In April 2018, Fukuhiro won their first ever title at the Badminton Asia Championships, defeating Misaki Matsutomo/Reika Takahashi in the final.

In May 2018, Yuki Fukushima/Saika Hirota represented the Japanese badminton team at the Uber Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, and won their first World Championship title by defeating the Thai duo of Jongkorn Phan/Rawinda 21-18,21-12 in the final as the No. 1 women’s doubles.

In June 2018, in the latest World Women’s Doubles Ranking, the Fukuhiro duo became the second Japanese women’s doubles pair to be ranked No. 1 globally on the list.

In June 2021, she injured her left knee to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during pre-Olympic training, and was only able to compete in the Olympics with conservative treatment, immobilizing pads, and bandages. In July of the same year, she and her partner, Yuki Fukushima, advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles badminton tournament of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the second place of Group A, and were defeated by the Chinese duo of Chen Qingcheng/Jia Yifan, stopping in the last eight of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a score of 1-2 (21-18, 10-21, 10 The team was defeated by Chinese pair Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan 1-2 (21-18, 10-21, 10-21) in the last eight. She underwent surgery immediately after the Olympics and her recovery time is expected to be six months.

World Ranking – Women’s Doubles 13, Week 31, 2024

Olympic Points – Women’s Doubles 8, 76325 points

Finals Ranking – Women’s Doubles 45, 15820 points

Equipment Used

ARCSABER 11 Metallic Red; ARCSABER 11; ASTROX 88S; NANOGY 95; ASTROX 88S PRO; ASTROX 88S PRO new colors; ASTROX 88S Beige/Red; AERUS Z; SHB65ZMEX; 75TH AERUS Z