Source: REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
[Saba Sports News] On September 4, 2024, 29-year-old badminton women’s doubles star Wakana Nagahara held a press conference in Akita City, announcing her retirement scheduled for March next year. 28-year-old Mayu Matsumoto also announced her departure from the national team. During her retirement speech, Nagahara reflected, “I’ve been part of the Japan national badminton team for nine years. It has been a busy journey, and I’ve experienced some painful moments. Looking back now, there were truly many happy times.” Recently, Nagahara announced she would cancel her plans to retire and study abroad for language and instead transition to becoming a pickleball athlete, continuing her sports career.
Data shows that from 2017 to 2019, Japanese women’s doubles players emerged in droves, with Japanese pairs occupying half of the world’s top ten, particularly the strong combinations of Ayaka Takahashi/Misaki Matsutomo, Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota, and Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara. Unfortunately, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Matsumoto/Nagahara pair was eliminated in the quarterfinals, which left them feeling very disappointed and considering breaking up the team. However, they ultimately decided to continue partnering for the Paris Olympics, but their performance was even worse, ending in the group stage. Now, with Nagahara’s retirement, the strongest generation of Japanese women’s doubles officially comes to a close.