# Koki Watanabe

Koki Watanabe (渡邉 航貴, Watanabe Kōki, born 29 January 1999) is a Japanese badminton player. He graduated from the Saitama Sakae High School, and was part of the BIPROGY team since 2017. Watanabe has won a Super 500 title at the Canada Open and was the runner-up in the Super 750 at the Denmark Open.

## Career

Watanabe started his badminton career when he was four years old, entered the badminton club under the influence of his sister. He later concentrate his badminton career in the kindergarten, and when he was in the elementary school, he won the Saitama school championships in third consecutive years. Watanabe entered the Saitamasakaechugakko Koto school, and won the singles title at the national junior championships, also placed third in the doubles event. He was part of the national junior team that competed at the 2015 and 2016 Asia and World Junior Championships, winning the World boys' singles bronze medal in 2015, he also helped the national team win the 2015, 2016 Asian, also 2016 World Junior bronze medals.
In 2018, Watanabe became the runner-up at the BWF Super 100 tournament Russian Open.

### 2024: Canada Open winner

Koki Watanabe celebrated a significant milestone in his badminton career by winning his first Super 500 title at the Canada Open. This victory is particularly meaningful, as it fulfills one of his long-held dreams. Watanabe expressed his satisfaction with this achievement and emphasized the importance of staying focused and taking one step at a time to reach his goals. In the final match, Watanabe faced Alex Lanier, the defending champion from 2022. The match was hard-fought, with Watanabe winning the third game 21–6. Lanier admitted that he ran out of energy in the third game, which allowed Watanabe to dominate and secure the title.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
| BWF Awards | 2019 | Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year | Nominated | |

## Achievements
### BWF World Junior Championships

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2015 | Centro de Alto Rendimiento de la Videna, Lima, Peru | Lu Chia-hung | 18–21, 12–21 | Bronze |

### BWF World Tour (3 titles, 3 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, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Russian Open | Super 100 | Sourabh Verma | 21–18, 12–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Orléans Masters | Super 100 | Thomas Rouxel | 18–21, 21–12, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2023 | Swiss Open | Super 300 | Chou Tien-chen | 22–20, 18–21, 21–12 | Winner |
| 2023 | Korea Masters | Super 300 | Kento Momota | 16–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Canada Open | Super 500 | Alex Lanier | 20–22, 21–17, 21–6 | Winner |
| 2024 | Denmark Open | Super 750 | Anders Antonsen | 15–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |

### BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles)

Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2018 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Kodai Naraoka | 21–14, 14–21, 21–15 | Winner | |
| 2019 | Osaka International | Takuma Obayashi | 19–21, 21–17, 21–7 | Winner | |
    BWF International Challenge tournament