# Sho Sasaki

Sho Sasaki (佐々木 翔, Sasaki Shō, born 30 June 1982) is a Japanese retired badminton player from Tonami Transportation badminton team. He competed at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. He also competed in four Asian Games from 2002 to 2014.

## Career

In 2007 he won the Japanese National Championships in men's singles, and 7 international tournaments: the Bahrain Satellite Badminton Tournament, the Banuinvest International Championships, the Osaka International Challenge, the Israel International, the Mauritius International, the Victorian International and the Italian International. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he reached the quarter-finals of the men's singles, losing to Lin Dan. In 2016, he did not advance to the knock-out stage after placing second in the group stage. He beat Petr Koukal of the Czech Republic, but was defeated by Rajiv Ouseph of Great Britain.
In 2017, he announced his retirement from the international badminton event. He ranked as high as No.6 in his career.

## Awards

In May 2012 he received the People's Honour Award from Hokuto City, and in 2013, received a Sports Award at the Toyama Shinbun Culture, Performing Arts and Sports Awards Ceremony.

## Achievements
### Asia Championships

Men's Singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2012 | Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea | Lin Dan | 21–14, 9–21, 15–21 | Silver |
| 2009 | Suwon Indoor Stadium, Suwon, South Korea | Bao Chunlai | 20–22, 10–21 | Bronze |

### BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix has two level such as Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It is a series of badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007.
Men's Singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2011 | Vietnam Open | Nguyen Tien Minh | 13–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2011 | U.S. Open | Nguyen Tien Minh | 21–17, 21–18 | Winner |
| 2011 | Australian Open | Wong Choong Hann | 21–11, 12–21. 21–19 | Winner |
| 2010 | Dutch Open | Ajay Jayaram | 21–16, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2008 | German Open | Lee Hyun-il | 20–22, 5–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
    BWF Grand Prix tournament

### BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2001 | Cuba International | Shōji Satō | 10–15, 5–15 | Runner-up |
| 2002 | Nigeria International | Shōji Satō | 15–7, 15–10 | Winner |
| 2003 | Giraldilla International | Richard Vaughan | 11–15, 15–6, 15–12 | Winner |
| 2003 | Slovak International | Hidetaka Yamada | 15–10, 15–13 | Winner |
| 2007 | Bahrain Satellite | Pablo Abián | 21–10, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2007 | Banuinvest International | Andre Kurniawan Tedjono | 21–8, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2007 | Osaka International | Shōji Satō | 19–21, 21–14, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2007 | Hatzor International | Petr Koukal | 21–15, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2007 | Mauritius International | Niels Christian Kaldau | 21–10, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2007 | Victorian International | Yousuke Nakanishi | 21–10, 21–9 | Winner |
| 2007 | Italian International | Andrew Dabeka | 21–6, 16–21, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2010 | Osaka International | Kazushi Yamada | 21–14, 21–17 | Winner |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2001 | Ten Days of Dawn | Shōji Satō | Afshin Bozorgzadeh Ali Shahhoseini | 15–9, 15–12 | Winner |
| 2001 | Cuba International | Shōji Satō | Reizel Acosta Lázaro Jerez | | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament