Kenichi Tago
Kenichi Tago at the 2013 French Super Series.
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (1989-07-16) 16 July 1989 (age 34)
Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)（active era）
107.42 kg (236.8 lb)(2020-present)
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking3 (3 April 2014)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Japan
Thomas Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 New Delhi Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Wuhan Men's team
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 New Delhi Men's singles
East Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong Men's team
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2007 Waitakere City Boys' singles
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Boys' singles
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team
BWF profile

Kenichi Tago (田児 賢一, Tago Ken'ichi, born 16 July 1989) is a former professional badminton player from Japan. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final he beat three seeded players including Nguyen Tien Minh, Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai. In the final, Tago lost to the first seed and reigning World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia with a score of 21–19 and 21–19,[1] following an incorrect line call in Lee Chong Wei's favour at matchpoint.[2] In 2012, he competed at the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's singles event, but did not advance to the knock-out stage after being defeated by Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka with a score of 18–21, 16–21.[3] In 2014, he reached the Indonesia Open final after a shocking win over Lee Chong Wei in the semifinal but could not keep up his good form and went on to lose by straight games in the final to Jan O. Jorgensen of Denmark. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.

Achievements

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2010 Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India China Wang Zhengming 14–21, 21–19, 16–21 Bronze Bronze

BWF World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2007 The Trusts Stadium, Waitakere City, New Zealand China Chen Long 16–21, 14–21 Silver Silver

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2006 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia South Korea Han Ki-hoon 21–13, 16–21, 26–24 Gold Gold

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[4] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries had two level such as Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries featured twelve tournaments around the world, which introduced since 2011,[5] with successful players invited to the Superseries Finals held at the year end.

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2010 All England Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 19–21, 19–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2011 French Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 16–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2012 Malaysia Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 6–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2013 India Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 15–21, 21–18, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2013 Japan Open Malaysia Lee Chong Wei 21–23, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2013 French Open Denmark Jan Ø. Jørgensen 19–21, 21–23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2014 Indonesia Open Denmark Jan Ø. Jørgensen 18–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2007 Swedish International Denmark Jens Kristian Leth 21–15, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2007 Scottish International Germany Björn Joppien 11–21, 21–15, 21–18 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2007 Korea International South Korea Shon Seung-mo 15–21, 21–18, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2008 Belgian International India Chetan Anand 21–16, 15–21, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Includes results against Olympic quarterfinals, Worlds semifinalists, and Super Series finalists, as well as all Olympic opponents.[6]

Gambling scandal

In October 2015, Kenichi Tago was kicked out of Japan's national team by Park Joo-bong because of indiscipline, after he repeatedly missed training sessions and was proving to be a bad influence to other players.[7] On 8 April 2016, Tago admitted to squandering 10 million Japanese yen over a period of 2 years after making over 60 visits to illegal casinos. Gambling in Japan is illegal, with frequent gambling punishable with imprisonment of up to 3 years.[8]

References

  1. ^ "All England: Chong Wei Crowned All England Champion". Bernama. Bernama. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Video replay shows final shot to be out". YouTube. YouTube. 15 March 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Tago exits in badminton first round". The Japan Times. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. ^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
  5. ^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. ^ Tournaments of Kenichi Tago
  7. ^ "Bad boy Tago axed from Japan national team - Badminton". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 8 April 2016. "It was a difficult decision to make, but we had to do it because we did not want his action to influence others in the national team," said head coach Park Joo-bong, who added that Tago was dropped after the Japan Open last month. "Without him, our strength in men's singles will be diluted, but we had no choice because he broke the national camp rules several times." It is learnt that Tago did not report for centralised training and preferred more personal attention. Joo-bong believes that the axing of Tago would keep others in check. "If this can happen to Tago, it can happen to anyone in the national team," he said.
  8. ^ "Tearful Tago wants mercy for Momota over casino visit". Reuters India. Retrieved 8 April 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kenichi Tago.
Thomas Cup badminton men's team champions
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