# Hiroyuki Endo

Hiroyuki Endo (遠藤 大由, Endō Hiroyuki, born 16 December 1986) is a retired Japanese badminton player. He competed at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. In 2009, he joined the Unisys badminton team.

## Career

Endo won the 1st point in the Thomas Cup finals with Kenichi Hayakawa beating Tan Boon Heong and Hoon Thien How and led the momentum for the Japanese team to claim the Thomas Cup for the first time, being the fourth nation to win the Thomas cup after Indonesia, China and Malaysia. Known for his defensive skills alongside his knowledge of the game, Endo has reached the finals of the All England Open tournament a total of 5 times, being the runner-up three times with his then partner, Kenichi Hayakawa and winning back to back titles, defending his 2020 All England Open title in 2021 with his current partner, Yuta Watanabe.
In July 2021, Endo competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the men's doubles partnering Yuta Watanabe. They were stopped in the quarter-finals, losing to Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, the eventual champions, in straight games.

## Retirement

At the beginning of September 2021 Hiroyuki Endo, at that time World No. 5 together with Yuta Watanabe, decided to resign from the Japanese National badminton team. This announcement just after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was made together with the announcement of retirements of men's doubles compatriots Keigo Sonoda and Takeshi Kamura. Endo, already 34 at the time of his retirement, wanted his partner Yuta Watanabe to fully concentrate on playing men's doubles with him and stop playing mixed doubles for some time. When he could not come to an agreement with Watanabe, he chose to retire. Meanwhile, Yuta, because he won the mixed doubles bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, still wanted to play both disciplines. "Thank you for your hard work as a National representative! You stayed as an A team member for 13 years. You piled up the endurance day by day. I guess you could do it because you hate to lose. I know you have been going through a lot of things, but you are amazing!" wrote Endo's wife on twitter. Endo became coach of his badminton club Nihon Unisys in Japan after his retirement.

## Achievements
### BWF World Championships

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2015 | Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia | Kenichi Hayakawa | Liu Xiaolong Qiu Zihan | 16–21, 23–21, 20–22 | Bronze |

### Asian Championships

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2012 | Qingdao Sports Centre Conson Stadium, Qingdao, China | Kenichi Hayakawa | Kim Gi-jung Kim Sa-rang | 12–21, 16–21 | Silver |
| 2013 | Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan | Kenichi Hayakawa | Kim Gi-jung Kim Sa-rang | 21–19, 13–21, 14–21 | Bronze |
| 2019 | Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China | Yuta Watanabe | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 21–18, 21–3 | Gold |

### BWF World Tour (4 titles, 5 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Malaysia Open | Super 750 | Yuta Watanabe | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 8–21, 10–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | Thailand Open | Super 500 | Yuta Watanabe | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 17–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | Korea Open | Super 500 | Yuta Watanabe | Takuro Hoki Yugo Kobayashi | 9–21, 21–15, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2018 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | Yuta Watanabe | Li Junhui Liu Yuchen | 15–21, 11–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | German Open | Super 300 | Yuta Watanabe | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 15–21, 21–11, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2019 | New Zealand Open | Super 300 | Yuta Watanabe | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 22–20, 15–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | BWF World Tour Finals | World Tour Finals | Yuta Watanabe | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 22–24, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2020 | All England Open | Super 1000 | Yuta Watanabe | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | 21–18, 12–21, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2021 | All England Open | Super 1000 | Yuta Watanabe | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 21–15, 17–21, 21–11 | Winner |

### BWF Superseries (7 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011. Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2012 | China Masters | Kenichi Hayakawa | Chai Biao Zhang Nan | 18–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | World Superseries Finals | Kenichi Hayakawa | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen | 17–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | All England Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Liu Xiaolong Qiu Zihan | 11–21, 9–21 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | China Masters | Kenichi Hayakawa | Ko Sung-hyun Lee Yong-dae | 23–25, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | All England Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | 19–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2014 | French Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen | 21–18, 9–21, 7–21 | Runner-up |
| 2016 | All England Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Vladimir Ivanov Ivan Sozonov | 23–21, 18–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Superseries Finals tournament
    BWF Superseries Premier tournament
    BWF Superseries tournament

### BWF Grand Prix (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Australian Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Kang Woo-kyum Park Tae-sang | 21–15, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2011 | Australian Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Naoki Kawamae Shoji Sato | 21–17, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2011 | Russian Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Naoki Kawamae Shoji Sato | 18–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | Indonesia Grand Prix Gold | Kenichi Hayakawa | Mohammad Ahsan Bona Septano | 13–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | U.S. Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Yoshiteru Hirobe Kenta Kazuno | 21–15, 21–10 | Winner |
| 2014 | German Open | Kenichi Hayakawa | Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda | 19–21, 21–14, 14–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF Grand Prix tournament

### BWF International Challenge/Series (1 runner-up)

Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2010 | Osaka International | Yoshiteru Hirobe | Hirokatsu Hashimoto Noriyasu Hirata | 21–16, 21–23, 17–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF International Challenge tournament