Badminton: Japan's Takahashi retires, won’t defend Olympic gold

TOKYO • Japan’s Olympic badminton champion Ayaka Takahashi will not defend her doubles crown with Misaki Matsutomo at next year’s Tokyo Games after announcing that she will retire at the end of the month.

The Japanese pair defeated Danish duo Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen to win the women’s doubles gold medal and their nation’s first badminton title at the 2016 Rio Games.

Takahashi, 30, cited the 12-month postponement of the Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for her decision to step away, saying her body might not hold up for another year.

Next year’s Games is slated to start on July 23 and end on Aug 8 following the confirmation of postponement earlier in March.

“I’ve decided to end my career on Aug 31 as I had doubts as to whether my inner fire and body would get through another year,” she told a news conference on Wednesday. “For me, it has always been all or nothing. When I train, I train, when I rest, I rest.

“When I shared my honest feelings with my partner Matsutomo and (my employer) Nihon Unisys, they respected my decision. My parents were understanding as well, and telling them was a big weight off my shoulders.”

Takahashi and Matsutomo, 28, were doubles partners for over a decade and last played together at the All England Open in March, where they defeated the top-ranked Chinese pairing of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan en route to the semi-finals.

“I have no regrets about this decision. I thought the match at the All England could be the last for me as we were not sure at that time whether the Olympic qualifying race would continue,” she said.

“That is why I wanted to play my best and we managed to beat them. I am proud of my achievements.”

Her retirement leaves men’s world No. 1 Kento Momota as Japan’s best badminton gold medal hope at Tokyo 2020.

The 25-year-old was injured in a car accident in January, hours after winning the Malaysia Masters.

Although he has recovered, he has not played competitively since.

This year’s All England tournament was the last badminton event to be staged, with the circuit on ice because of the pandemic.

REUTERS

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