Takuto Inoue
Takuto Inoue is a Japanese former badminton player from the BIPROGY. Primarily competing in men's doubles with Yuki Kaneko, Inoue reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7 on 12 July 2018. Together, they won a BWF Grand Prix Gold title at the 2017 U.S. Open and a BWF World Tour Super 300 title at the 2018 German Open. They also became the first Japanese men's doubles pair since 1982 to reach the final of their home tournament, the 2017 Japan Open Super Series, and were runners-up at the 2018 Indonesia Open Super 1000. In team competitions, Inoue earned silver medals at the 2018 Thomas Cup and the 2019 Asia Mixed Team Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games men's team event.
Career
Junior career
During his junior career, Inoue secured two silver medals at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Chiba: one in boys' doubles with Yuki Kaneko, finishing runners-up to Hong Kong's Lee Chun Hei and Ng Ka Long, and another in the mixed team event. In mixed team events, he also earned a gold medal at the 2012 Asian Junior Championships in Gimcheon and a bronze medal at the 2013 Asian Junior Championships in Kota Kinabalu.Senior career
Takuto Inoue's senior career began in men's doubles, partnering with Yuki Kaneko. On the International Challenge circuit, Inoue secured his first senior international titles at the 2013 Romanian International, winning both men's singles and men's doubles with Kaneko. They also won the 2017 Austrian Open and were runners-up at the 2015 Osaka International.In the BWF Grand Prix series, Inoue and Kaneko secured their first Grand Prix Gold title at the 2017 U.S. Open, defeating top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han. They were also runners-up at the 2014 Russia Open, 2016 Thailand Open, 2017 China Masters, and 2017 Dutch Open. During the 2016 Thailand Open, they upset the top-seeded Malaysian pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong in the opening round.
On the BWF Super Series circuit, Inoue and Kaneko became the first Japanese men's doubles pair since 1982 to reach the final of their home tournament, the 2017 Japan Open. They defeated 2016 All England Open champions Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov in the semifinals before finishing as runners-up to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.
With the introduction of the BWF World Tour in 2018, Inoue and Kaneko won their first BWF World Tour title at the 2018 German Open Super 300 by defeating Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. They were also runners-up at the 2018 Indonesia Open Super 1000, again losing to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. They achieved a career-high men's doubles ranking of world No. 7 on 12 July 2018.
In the later stages of his career, Inoue formed new men's doubles partnerships. With Kenya Mitsuhashi, he was a runner-up at the 2022 Canada Open and the 2022 Mongolia International. He also won the 2023 Malaysia International with Masayuki Onodera.
In team competitions, Inoue earned silver medals at the 2018 Thomas Cup and the 2019 Asia Mixed Team Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games men's team event.
Takuto Inoue retired from his playing career on 31 March 2024, after a 11-year tenure with his team, BIPROGY.
Achievements
World Junior Championships
Boys' doubles| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Chiba Port Arena, Chiba, Japan |  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. 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
|
|1974gold1