Kanta Tsuneyama
Kanta Tsuneyama is a Japanese former professional badminton player and current coach. A men's singles player from Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, he achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 10. During his career, Tsuneyama won several BWF World Tour titles, including the Thailand Open (badminton)|2018 Thailand Open], the 2019 Korea Masters, and the 2021 French Open. He also earned medals with the Japan national [badminton team|Japanese national team], securing a silver at the 2018 Thomas Cup and bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games|2018] and 2022 Asian Games. After retiring from professional competition in August 2024, Tsuneyama was appointed coach of the Hokuto Bank women's badminton team, beginning with the 2025 season.
Early career
Tsuneyama began playing badminton at the age of six, influenced by his parents, who were former corporate badminton players in Japan. He attended Kusatsu Elementary School and Kusatsu Junior High School. In 2011, while in junior high, he was a semi-finalist at the All Japan Junior High School Championships.He later attended Higashi Osaka University Kashiwara High School, known for its badminton program. While in high school, Tsuneyama secured several national titles: singles at the 2013 Inter-High School Championships and the 2014 National High School Invitational Badminton Championships; doubles at the 2014 Inter-High School Championships; and both singles and doubles at the 2013 All Japan Junior Badminton Championships.
On the international junior circuit, at the 2014 Asian Junior Championships in Taipei, he won medals in three events: a silver medal in the boys' singles, a bronze medal in the boys' doubles, and a bronze medal as part of the Japanese mixed team. In the same year, he competed in the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. He won a silver medal in mixed doubles partnering Lee Chia-hsin of Chinese Taipei and reached the quarterfinals in the boys' singles, losing to Ginting. He also helped Japan win a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the World Junior Championships in Alor Setar, Malaysia.
While still a high school student, Tsuneyama competed against senior players at the All Japan Badminton Championships, reaching the quarterfinals in 2013 and the semifinals in 2014. After graduating from high school in 2015, he joined the Tonami Transportation badminton team, citing his ambition to compete in the Olympics as his motivation.
Career
2016: First international title
In 2016, Tsuneyama won his first senior international title at the Finnish Open in April, defeating Nguyễn Tiến Minh of Vietnam in the final. He also reached the finals of the Austrian Open in February and the Spanish International in June, where he was runner-up to Anders Antonsen of Denmark on both occasions. Additionally, Tsuneyama advanced to his first BWF Grand Prix Gold final at the U.S. Open in July, where he lost to Lee Hyun-il of South Korea. Starting the season with a world ranking of No. 140, Tsuneyama entered the top 50 and reached a career-high of world No. 45 by 28 August 2016.2017: First Grand Prix Gold title
In 2017, Tsuneyama won two international titles, beginning with the Austrian Open in February. He followed this by winning his first Grand Prix Gold title at the Canada Open Grand Prix|Canada Open] in July, defeating his compatriot, Kento Momota, in the final. Momota was competing in his first international tournament following a suspension. By the end of the year, Tsuneyama had broken into the top 30, reaching a new career-high ranking of world No. 27.2018: First World Tour title, Thomas Cup silver
In 2018, Tsuneyama won his first BWF World Tour title at the Thailand Open, defeating Tommy Sugiarto in the final. He was the first Japanese men's singles player to win the title in the tournament's 34-year history. At the World Championships in Nanjing, Tsuneyama reached the quarterfinals for the first time. He defeated the 12th seed, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, before being eliminated by Liew Daren of Malaysia.In team competitions, Tsuneyama contributed to the Japanese team's silver medal at the Thomas Cup in Bangkok. During the semifinal against defending champion Denmark, with the tie at 2–2, he won the decisive fifth match against Jan Ø. Jørgensen to secure a 3–2 victory and advance the team to the final. Later that year, he was part of the team that won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
2019: Korea Masters win, top 10 ranking
Tsuneyama won his second World Tour title at the Korea Masters. Entering the tournament unseeded, his path to the final included a victory over sixth seed Srikanth Kidambi, before he defeated two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan 24–22, 21–12 in the final. Earlier that year at the Japan Open, he upset reigning Olympic champion Chen Long 21–14, 21–17 in the first round. He reached a career-high world ranking of No. 10 as of 26 November 2019.In team competition, Tsuneyama was part of the 2019 [Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships squads#Japan|Japanese squad] that finished as runner-up at the 2019 Badminton Asia [Mixed Team Championships|Asian Mixed Team Championships]. Individually, he reached the third round at the World Championships in Basel, where he was defeated by Denmark's Anders Antonsen, the eventual runner-up. Tsuneyama concluded the year by reaching the semifinals of the All Japan Badminton Championships, where he lost to Kenta Nishimoto, securing a bronze medal for the third consecutive year.
2020–2021: Olympic debut, French Open title
In early 2020, Tsuneyama was a member of the Japanese team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Manila. Later that year, he finished as the runner-up at the All Japan Badminton Championships, losing to Kento Momota in the final.Tsuneyama made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, held in 2021. In the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's singles|men's singles] event, he advanced from his group stage by defeating Julien Paul of Mauritius and Ygor Coelho of Brazil. He was subsequently eliminated in the round of 16 by Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
In team competitions later in 2021, Tsuneyama contributed to Japan winning a silver medal at the 2021 Sudirman Cup in Vantaa and a bronze medal at the 2020 Thomas Cup in Aarhus. In October, Tsuneyama won his first Super 750 title at the 2021 French Open, defeating Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the final. He advanced to the final after his compatriot, Kento Momota, retired from their semifinal match due to injury.
2022: Thomas Cup bronze
In 2022, Tsuneyama began the season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Asian Championships, where he lost to Lee Zii Jia. In May, he earned a bronze medal with the Japanese men's team at the Thomas Cup in Bangkok. Later that year, he advanced to the quarterfinals at the Malaysia Masters in July, defeating compatriot Kento Momota before falling to Prannoy H. S. He also reached the quarterfinals at the Japan Open, where he beat Srikanth Kidambi before losing to Anders Antonsen. However, his participation in the World Championships ended in the opening round.2023: Asian Championships bronze
Tsuneyama began the 2023 season in January by reaching the semifinals of the Super 1000 Malaysia Open (badminton)|Malaysia Open]. His run included a quarterfinal victory over Anthony Sinisuka Ginting before he was defeated by world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen. In March, he finished as the runner-up at the Spain Masters, losing to compatriot Kenta Nishimoto in the final. The following month, he secured a bronze medal at the Asian Championships after losing his semifinal match to the eventual champion, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. At the World Championships in August, his campaign concluded in the third round with a defeat by Nishimoto. Later in the season, Tsuneyama reached the semifinals of the Arctic Open in October. In November, he also advanced to the semifinals of the China Masters, where he was defeated by the eventual champion, Kodai Naraoka. In team competitions, he contributed to Japan's bronze medal wins at both the Sudirman Cup and the Asian Games.2024: Final season and retirement
In 2024, Tsuneyama concluded his professional career. He participated in nine tournaments, with his best result being a second-round finish at the Japan Open in August. Following this tournament, on 22 August 2024, he announced his retirement from international badminton and withdrew from the Japanese national team.Achievements
Asian Championships
Men's singles| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Youth Olympic GamesMixed doubles
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