# Riko Gunji

Riko Gunji (郡司莉子, Gunji Riko, born 31 July 2002) is a Japanese badminton player. She is the gold medalist at the 2019 BWF World Junior Championships in the girls' singles.

## Career

Gunji was the finalist in the Under-15 at the 2016 Singapore Youth International Series. In the same tournament, she won the girls' doubles title with partner Akari Nakashizu. She was the girls' singles Under-17 champion of 2017 Singapore Youth International Series beating Peeraya Khantaruangsakul of Thailand. She won the bronze medal in 2018 BWF World Junior Championships mixed team event. In the girls' singles, she lost in the second round to China's Wang Zhiyi.
In 2019, she reached the final of Dutch Junior International where she earned second best position after losing to China's Han Qianxi. She lost another final at the India Junior International event to Thai player Benyapa Aimsaard. In 2019 World Junior Championships, she entered the tournament seeded 7th. She went on to stun several higher seeded players in the tournament. She defeated Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan in semifinal, who was a top seeded player in 2 straight games. In the final she won the World Junior title, beating out China's Zhou Meng.

### 2025

Gunji was selected as a member of the 2025 Japan National Team, coached by Takako Ida and Shōji Satō.

## Achievements
### World Junior Championships

Girls' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2019 | Kazan Gymnastics Center, Kazan, Russia | Zhou Meng | 21–13, 12–21, 21–14 | Gold | |

### BWF World Tour (1 title, 2 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.
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2022 | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 | Gao Fangjie | 10–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Kaohsiung Masters | Super 100 | Liang Ting-yu | 20–22, 21–15, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 (I) | Indonesia Masters | Super 100 | Hina Akechi | 21–10, 22–20 | Winner |

### BWF International Challenge/Series (8 titles, 3 runners-up)

Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2021 | Belgian International | Hsu Wen-chi | 12–21, 21–16, 23–21 | Winner |
| 2022 | Mexican International | Natsuki Nidaira | 21–14, 19–21, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2022 | Réunion Open | Natsuki Oie | 21–5, 21–14 | Winner |
| 2022 (II) | Indonesia International | Gao Fangjie | 9–21, 11–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Norwegian International | Natsuki Nidaira | 21–14, 18–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Irish Open | Natsuki Nidaira | 21–13, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2024 | Thailand International | Mutiara Ayu Puspitasari | 21–14, 21–15 | Winner |
| 2024 | Luxembourg Open | Hina Akechi | 16–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Denmark Challenge | Hina Akechi | 20–22, 21–16, 21–11 | Winner |
| 2024 | Saipan International | Asuka Takahashi | 21–14, 14–21, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2024 | Malaysia International | Ruzana | 19–21, 21–15, 21–11 | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament

### BWF Junior International (2 runners-up)

Girls' singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2019 | Dutch Junior International | Han Qianxi | 13–21, 21–23 | Runner-up | |
| 2019 | India Junior International | Benyapa Aimsaard | 19–21, 21–18, 21–23 | Runner-up | |
    BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament

## Performance timeline
### Key

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | G | S | B | NH | N/A | DNQ |

### National team

* Junior level
| Team events | 2018 | 2019 | Ref |
| Asian Junior Championships | S | QF |
| World Junior Championships | B | B | |
* Senior level
| Team events | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Ref |
| Asia Team Championships | G | NH | B | |
| Uber Cup | NH | A | B | |

### Individual competitions

* Junior level
| Events | 2018 | 2019 | Ref |
| Asian Junior Championships | 1R | A | |
| World Junior Championships | 4R | G | |
* Senior level
| Tournament | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | BWF World Tour | Best | Ref |
| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Best | Ref |
| Thailand Masters | NH | 2R | A | A | 2R ('23) | |
| German Open | A | 1R | A | SF | SF ('25) | |
| Orléans Masters | A | A | A | QF | QF ('25) | |
| Swiss Open | A | 1R | A | A | 1R ('23) | |
| Ruichang China Masters | NH | A | 1R | A | 1R ('24) | |
| Spain Masters | NH | 1R | A | NH | 1R ('23) | |
| Kaohsiung Masters | N/A | F | A | | F ('23) | |
| Canada Open | QF | A | A | | QF ('22) | |
| Indonesia Masters Super 100 | F | QF | W | | W ('24) | |
| Indonesia Masters Super 100 | F | w/d | A | | W ('24) | |
| Vietnam Open | A | 1R | A | | 1R ('23) | |
| Macau Open | NH | NH | QF | | QF ('24) | |
| Japan Masters | NH | NH | 2R | | 2R ('24) | |
| Year-end ranking | 42 | 103 | 39 | | 33 | |
| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Best | Ref |

## Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 16 December 2024.
| Player | Matches | Win | Lost | Diff. |
| Wang Zhiyi | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Aya Ohori | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| An Se-young | 1 | 0 | 1 | –1 |
| Ratchanok Intanon | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |