Akira Koga
Akira Koga is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with the JTEKT badminton team. He was a member of the Japanese junior team that won a gold medal at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships and a silver medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships. In his senior career, Koga has primarily competed in men's doubles with his partner Taichi Saito. He won a silver medal with the Japanese team at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, and has won multiple bronze medals at the Thomas Cup and the Asian Games.
Early career
Junior career
Koga began playing badminton in his hometown of Fukuoka, where his father coached a junior team and his mother had played at the university level. He started training in elementary school and later attended Saitama Sakae Junior and Senior High Schools. During his junior career, he wonseveral national titles, including the doubles title at the 2008 All Japan Junior High School Championships and the 2010 JOC Junior Olympic Cup. In 2011, he won the singles title at the National High School Championships, defeating Kento Momota in the final.
In 2012, he contributed to Japan's first mixed team title at the Asian Junior Championships and a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. In the World Junior team final against China, he and partner Akane Yamaguchi lost the decisive mixed doubles match 22–24 in the third game to Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen.
University career
From 2012 to 2016, Koga studied at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University, where he formed a men's doubles partnership with fellow student Taichi Saito. The pair won the All Japan Inter-Collegiate Championships three times. During his second year, Koga sustained a stress fracture that required surgery, hindering his performance for the remainder of the 2013 season. In his final year, he served as team captain and received the Athletics Honorary Award and the Azusa Ono Memorial Award.Career
2016–2024: Partnership with Taichi Saito
Afer graduating in 2016, Koga joined the NTT East badminton team and began his senior career, maintaining his partnership with Taichi Saito. The pair won consecutive national titles at the Japan Ranking Circuit in 2017 and 2018 and secured their first international title at the 2018 South Australia International. On the BWF WorldTour, they finished as runners-up at four tournaments: the Orléans Masters, the Akita Masters, and the Indonesia Masters Super 100|Indonesia Masters] in 2019, and the Syed Modi International in 2023. They also reached the semifinals of the 2021 Indonesia Open Super 1000 and the 2023 Canada Open Super 500.
2025–2026: New partnerships and first World Tour title
Following the retirement of his partner Taichi Saito, Koga transferred to the JTEKT Stingers in 2025. In men's doubles, he partnered with Naoya Kawashima, winning the Saipan International and finishing as runner-up at the Northern Marianas International. Koga also competed in mixed doubles with Yuho Imai, securing his first World Tour title at the Super 100 Kaohsiung Masters. The pair also won the Mexican International and the Northern Marianas Open, and were runners-up at the Northern Marianas International.Towards the end of 2025, Koga competed with temporary partners, reaching the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the Korea Masters with Hina Osawa and the semi-finals of the Japan Masters with Misaki Matsutomo. He then formed a partnership with Natsu Saito. The pair made their international debut at the season-opening 2026 Malaysia Open, where they advanced to the second round.
National team career
Representing Japan in team events, Koga won a silver medal at the 2021 Sudirman Cup. He has also won bronze medals at the Thomas Cup and the Asian Games.Achievements
BWF World Tour (1 title, 4 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. 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 doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref | ||||||
| 2019 | Orléans Masters | Super 100 |  BWF International Challenge/Series (4 titles, 2 runners-up)Men's doubles
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