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Kenichi Tago
Kenichi Tago
	Kenichi Tago at the 2013 French Super Series.
Personal information
Country	Japan
Born	16 July 1989 (age 35); Warabi, Saitama, Japan
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)（active era） ; 107.42 kg (236.8 lb)(2020-present)
Handedness	Right
Men's singles
Highest ranking	3 (3 April 2014)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing Japan
Thomas Cup
Asian Championships
East Asian Games
World Junior Championships
Asian Junior Championships
	BWF profile

Kenichi Tago (田児賢一, Tago Ken'ichi, born 16 July 1989) is a Japanese former professional badminton player. He is the son of former badminton player Yoshiko Yonekura. In 2010, he reached the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships. En route to the final, he beat three seeded players, including Nguyễn Tiến Minh, Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai. In the final, Tago lost to the first seed and reigning World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia with a score of 21–19 and 21–19,^[1] following an incorrect line call in Lee Chong Wei's favour at match point.^[2] In 2012, he competed at the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's singles event, but did not advance to the knock-out stage after being defeated by Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka with a score of 18–21, 16–21.^[3] In 2014, he reached the Indonesia Open final after a shocking win over Lee Chong Wei in the semifinal but could not keep up his good form and went on to lose by straight games in the final to Jan Ø. Jørgensen of Denmark. He competed at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.

Achievements

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India	Wang Zhengming	14–21, 21–19, 16–21	Bronze

BWF World Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	The Trusts Stadium, Waitakere City, New Zealand	Chen Long	16–21, 14–21	Silver

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Han Ki-hoon	21–13, 16–21, 26–24	Gold

BWF Super Series

The BWF Super Series, launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[4] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Super Series had two level such as Super Series and Super Series Premier. A season of the Super Series featured a total of twelve tournaments around the world since the 2011 season,^[5] with successful players invited to the Super Series Finals held at the year end.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	All England Open	Lee Chong Wei	19–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2011	French Open	Lee Chong Wei	16–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2012	Malaysia Open	Lee Chong Wei	6–21, 13–21	Runner-up
2013	India Open	Lee Chong Wei	15–21, 21–18, 17–21	Runner-up
2013	Japan Open	Lee Chong Wei	21–23, 17–21	Runner-up
2013	French Open	Jan Ø. Jørgensen	19–21, 21–23	Runner-up
2014	Indonesia Open	Jan Ø. Jørgensen	18–21, 18–21	Runner-up

BWF Superseries Finals tournament

BWF Super Series Premier tournament

BWF Superseries tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Swedish International	Jens Kristian Leth	21–15, 21–15	Winner
2007	Scottish International	Björn Joppien	11–21, 21–15, 21–18	Winner
2007	Korea International	Shon Seung-mo	15–21, 21–18, 10–21	Runner-up
2008	Belgian International	Chetan Anand	21–16, 15–21, 21–19	Winner

BWF International Challenge tournament

BWF International Series tournament

Record against selected opponents

Includes results against Olympic quarterfinals, Worlds semifinalists, and Super Series finalists, as well as all Olympic opponents.^[6]

Gambling scandal

In October 2015, Tago was removed from Japan's national team by head coach Park Joo-bong due to indiscipline, after he repeatedly missed training sessions and was proving to be a bad influence to other players.^[7] On 8 April 2016, Tago admitted to squandering 10 million Japanese yen over a period of 2 years after making over 60 visits to illegal casinos alongside other professional players, including countryman Kento Momota, who was banned from competition until late 2017 and forced to miss the Olympic Games as a result.^[8] Gambling in Japan is illegal, with frequent gambling punishable with imprisonment of up to 3 years.^[9]

References

^ "All England: Chong Wei Crowned All England Champion". Bernama. Bernama. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
^ "Video replay shows final shot to be out". YouTube. YouTube. 15 March 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
^ "Tago exits in badminton first round". The Japan Times. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
^ "BWF Launches Super Series". Badminton Australia. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007.
^ "Yonex All England Elevated To BWF Premier Super Series Event". www.ibadmintonstore.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
^ Tournaments of Kenichi Tago
^ "Bad boy Tago axed from Japan national team - Badminton". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 8 April 2016. "It was a difficult decision to make, but we had to do it because we did not want his action to influence others in the national team," said head coach Park Joo-bong, who added that Tago was dropped after the Japan Open last month. "Without him, our strength in men's singles will be diluted, but we had no choice because he broke the national camp rules several times." It is learnt that Tago did not report for centralised training and preferred more personal attention. Joo-bong believes that the axing of Tago would keep others in check. "If this can happen to Tago, it can happen to anyone in the national team," he said.
^ "バド桃田ら賭博関与認める「規約違反」五輪絶望的". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 7 April 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
^ "Tearful Tago wants mercy for Momota over casino visit". Reuters India. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.