Source: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
[Saba Sports News] In the 2025 All England Open, the Japanese team swept both the gold and silver medals in the women’s doubles event. Kei Nakashima, who has been serving as the head coach for the women’s doubles group of Japan’s national badminton team for 17 years, became the focus of heated discussion among fans once again. Records show that Kei Nakashima’s original name was Ding Qiqing, a former member of China’s national badminton team. He participated in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and won the bronze medal in men’s doubles with Chen Kang. In 1987, Ding Qiqing injured himself during training and was forced to retire, then embarked on studying at a university in Japan. Later, he accepted an invitation from a Japanese company to become a club coach. The next time Ding Qiqing appeared in the Chinese fan’s sights, he had given up his Chinese citizenship and joined Japan, changing his name to Kei Nakashima. Starting in 2008, Kei Nakashima accepted the appointment from Japan’s Badminton Association to serve as the head coach for the women’s doubles group of Japan’s national badminton team. Within just 8 years, from 2008 to 2016, Kei Nakashima brought the Japanese women’s doubles to the pinnacle of the world, winning silver at the 2012 London Olympics and gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. After the Paris Olympics, Japan’s national badminton team underwent a major renewal of its coaching staff, but Kei Nakashima was the only one of the single-event head coaches who were not fired.