On September 4, 29-year-old Japanese badminton women’s doubles star Wakana Nagahara held a press conference in Akita City to announce that she will retire in March next year. Her partner, 28-year-old Mayu Matsumoto, will also leave the national team but may continue to compete with other players. The Japan Open in August this year marked the final stage for this pair to compete together.
In her retirement statement, Wakana Nagahara said, “As a member of the Japanese national badminton team for nine years, every day was busy, and there were some painful moments. Looking back now, there were also many happy times… I will participate in the upcoming Japan S/J Badminton League and officially retire in March next year.”
Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi became the first Japanese women’s doubles pair in history to reach world No. 1 in October 2014. They won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, ushering in the golden era of Japanese women’s doubles. From 2017 to 2019, Japanese women’s doubles teams flourished, occupying half of the world’s top 10. Among them, the strongest pairs were Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota, and Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara.
Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota won silver at the World Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019, while Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara made their breakthrough in 2018, emerging as dark horses to claim back-to-back World Championships titles in 2018 and 2019. They also reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in April 2019 and were once considered the successors to Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi. Japan even viewed the Tokyo Olympic women’s doubles gold medal as almost a certainty.
As Ayaka Takahashi retired due to injuries, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota and Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara gradually became Japan’s main force in women’s doubles. Both pairs competed in the Tokyo Olympics, but Hirota suffered a knee injury just before the games and had to compete wearing a brace after choosing conservative treatment. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Matsumoto/Nagahara also fell at the same stage, putting a damper on Japan’s once-dominant women’s doubles.
Following their quarterfinal exit at the Tokyo Olympics, Matsumoto and Nagahara were disappointed and considered splitting up. However, they decided to continue partnering for the Paris Olympics. Although they were unable to achieve their ideal results in Paris, exiting in the group stage, they persevered until the end. Sayaka Hirota also suffered another devastating knee ligament tear just before the 2024 Olympics, ultimately missing this year’s games.
Now, with Wakana Nagahara’s retirement, the strongest generation of Japanese women’s doubles has officially come to an end. The rise of Chiharu Shida and Nami Matsuyama brings new hope to Japan’s women’s doubles, but compared to the glory achieved by their predecessors, they still have a long way to go in terms of personal strength and accomplishments, requiring more time to grow and mature.
Nagahara Wakana (Japanese:ながはら わかな, January 9, 1996) is a Japanese female badminton player and an active member of the Japan national badminton team (Team A). Her partnership with Mayu Matsumoto was ranked No. 1 in the world at the highest level, winning the 2018 World Badminton Championships by defeating compatriots Yuki Fukushima/Saika Hirota.She won back-to-back women’s doubles titles at the 2019 World Badminton Championships by defeating the team of Yuki Fukushima/Saika Hirota once again.
In July 2013, Nagahara and Kona, along with Asayo Matsumoto and Jorang Hioki, represented Japan at the Asian Junior Badminton Championships in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, where Japan finished third in the team event, losing 0-3 to China in the first mixed team event.
In April 2014, Nagahara and Kona teamed up with Mayu Matsumoto to reach the women’s doubles final of the Rakugo Badminton International Series, ultimately defeating the tournament’s No. 4 seeded team of Pachongphan Bongchuwong/Samnisa Tichaworasinkun of Thailand 2-0 (21-17, 21-11) to win their first FIBA tournament first title.
In July 2016, Nagahara and Kona teamed up with Yogo Kobayashi and Mayu Matsumoto to compete in the U.S. Open Badminton Mixed Doubles and Women’s Doubles tournaments in Los Angeles, USA. In mixed doubles, the team won the title by defeating Robert Matsyak/Natysda Sierba of Poland 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). As for the women’s doubles, they fell to teammates Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto in a three-set thriller, 1-2 (22-20, 15-21, 19-21), to finish as runners-up.
In July 2017, Nagahara and Kona played in the Canadian Badminton Grand Prix with Matsumoto Mayu, taking down teammates Hoshi Chiji/Shinoa Naryu of Japan 2-1 (21-16, 16-21, 21-18) in the final to win their first Grand Prix title.
On August 5, 2018, at the 2018 World Badminton Championships, No. 1 seeds Matsumoto Asashoryu/Nagahara and Kona saved 2 match points in the deciding set to beat No. 2 seeds Fukushima Yuki/Hirota Saichika 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 22-20), as the Japanese women’s doubles team regained the title after 41 years since the 1977 World Championships.
On August 25, 2019, Asashoryu Matsumoto/Wakona Nagahara defeated Yuki Fukushima/Saika Hirota 2-1 in the final of the 2019 Badminton World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, to repeat as women’s doubles champions.
In March 2021, Asashoryu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara played in the 2021 All England Open Badminton Championships and won the Super 1000 title by defeating teammates Yuki Fukushima/Saika Hirota 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) in the Women’s Doubles Final.
In July 2021, Matsumoto/Akuna Nagahara lost to South Korean pair Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong 1-2 (14-21, 21-14, 26-28) in the last eight.
