| Kenya Mitsuhashi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mitsuhashi at the2023 Kaohsiung Masters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1997-07-11)11 July 1997 (age 28) Gunma Prefecture, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Lee Wan Wah Hiroyuki Endo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's doubles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 18 (withHiroki Okamura, 27 August 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 39 (with Hiroki Okamura, 11 November 2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kenya Mitsuhashi (三橋 健也,Mitsuhashi Ken'ya; born 11 July 1997) is a Japanesebadminton player.[2][3] He was a silver medalist in the men's doubles at the2017 Summer Universiade.[4]
Mitsuhashi was selected to join national junior team competed at the2014 Asian Junior Championships, and helped the team win the mixed team bronze medal.[5] He also settled for another bronze medal in the boys' doubles event partnered withYuta Watanabe.[6] TOgether with the Japan juniors, he won the bronze medal at theWorld Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia.[7] He captured a title at the 2014 Korea Junior Open in the boys' doubles event teamed-up with Watanabe.
Mitsuhashi started the 2015 season, by winning the boys' doubles title at the Dutch Junior tournament with Watanabe. He participated at theAsian Junior Championships, clinched the bronze medal in the mixed team events.[8] Mitsuhashi made his first appearance in the senior international event at theOsaka International tournament. He then claimed two title at the Australian Junior International, winning the bos' singles and doubles event, and later won the boys' dobules title in the Danish Junior Cup. In November, he won the boys' doubles bronze medal at theWorld Junior Championships in Lima, Peru.[9]
Mitsuhashi reached his first final in the senior event at the 2016Austrian Open, losing the final to Marcus Ellis and Chirsi Langridge,[10] and later also became a runner-up in theVietnam International Challenge.[11] After graduating from high school, he went on toNihon University. In 2017, he participated in the Universiade (World University Championships) as a pair withKatsuki Tamate. In the semi-finals, he defeated the pair ofLee Yang andLee Jhe-huei, to advance to the finals. In the finals, he lost toKim Jae-hwan andSeo Seung-jae, and came in second.[4] In 2018, he started to play in the mixed doubles withNaru Shinoya, with their best results during the year were the semi-finalists in the Osaka International, as well as quarter-finalists in the Malaysia International andVietnam Open.
After graduating from university, Mitsuhashi joined Nippon Unisys (now BIPROGY). He formed a pair withTakuto Inoue, who is two years older than him. They achieved results such as the runner-up in the All Japan Overall Championship in 2021 and the All Japan Adult Championship in 2022. In the early 2022 season, Mitsuhashi and Inoue reached three finals in the Réunion Open, Mongolia International, and at theCanada Open.
From 2023, Mitsuhashi was paired withHiroki Okamura, who is one year younger than him. In September, he won theVietnam Open, marking his first BWF World Tour title. The duo then won the Indonesia International Challenge andIndonesia Masters Super 100 in October. At theJapan Masters in November, they defeated world number 9Mohammad Ahsan andHendra Setiawan in straight games in the first round.[12] In the second round, they defeated world number 6 and world championsKang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae in straight games to advance to the quarter-finals.[13] They lost the quarter-finals match toHe Jiting andRen Xiangyu.[14]
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan | 12–21, 19–21 | Silver | [15] |
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Centro de Alto Rendimiento de la Videna, Lima, Peru | 13–21, 16–21 | Bronze | [16] |
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Taipei Gymnasium, Taipei, Taiwan | 10–21, 8–21 | Bronze | [17] |
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[18] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton 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.[19]
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Canada Open | Super 100 | 15–21, 8–21 | [20][21] | |||
| 2023 | Vietnam Open | Super 100 | 21–19, 21–19 | [22] | |||
| 2023 (II) | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 | 21–16, 21–18 | [23] |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Austrian Open | 14–21, 16–21 | [24] | |||
| 2016 | Vietnam International | 19–21, 14–21 | [25] | |||
| 2022 | Réunion Open | 21–16, 18–21, 10–21 | [26] | |||
| 2022 | Mongolia International | 14–21, 21–12, 19–21 | [27] | |||
| 2023 (II) | Indonesia International | 20–22, 21–16, 21–8 | [28] |