Osaka International (badminton)

The Osaka International, initially known as the Osaka Satellite, was an international badminton tournament held annually in Osaka, Japan, from 2007 to 2023. Sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) as an International Challenge level event, it was hosted by the Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) and overseen by the Osaka Prefectural Badminton Association. The event was discontinued after the 2023 edition.[1]

Controversies

2016 Cancellation

Cancellation of the 2016 Osaka International resulted from the Nippon Badminton Association (NBA) missing the application deadline set by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).[2] The BWF had notified the NBA in October 2014 of a deadline change from August to April, but this was reportedly overlooked by NBA staff. The NBA's application, submitted in August 2015 (four months past the revised deadline), was consequently rejected.[3] Following the cancellation, Kinji Zeniya, then executive director of the NBA, publicly apologized and stated the association planned to reapply the next year.[4]

Discontinuation

The discontinuation of the Osaka International, effective from 2024, was announced by the NBA on 27 October 2023.[5] The decision followed discussions with tournament stakeholders and was communicated to Badminton Asia and the BWF. According to the NBA, the discontinuation stemmed from a re-evaluation of its organizational structure and funding allocation. The NBA noted that the Osaka International had received higher funding compared to other tournaments. When the NBA proposed adjusting future funding to align with other events, the Osaka Prefectural Badminton Association indicated difficulty in continuing under those terms and relinquished its hosting role.[6]

Previous winners

Year Men's singles Women's singles Men's doubles Women's doubles Mixed doubles
2007[7] Shō Sasaki Eriko Hirose Han Sang-hoon
Cho Gun-woo
Aki Akao
Tomomi Matsuda
Keita Masuda
Miyuki Maeda
2008[8] Kōichi Saeki Megumi Taruno Kwon Yi-goo
Ko Sung-hyun
Kumiko Ogura
Reiko Shiota
Kwon Yi-goo
Ha Jung-eun
2009[9] Lee Cheol-ho Ai Gotō Yoshiteru Hirobe
Hajime Komiyama
Misaki Matsutomo
Ayaka Takahashi
Hsieh Yu-Hsing
Chien Yu-chin
2010[10] Sho Sasaki Wang Rong Hirokatsu Hashimoto
Noriyasu Hirata
Mizuki Fujii
Reika Kakiiwa
Kenichi Hayakawa
Shizuka Matsuo
2011[11] Keigo Sonoda Minatsu Mitani Takatoshi Kurose
Keigo Sonoda
Miri Ichimaru
Shiho Tanaka
Takeshi Kamura
Koharu Yonemoto
2012[12] Kazumasa Sakai Sayaka Takahashi Takeshi Kamura
Keigo Sonoda
Rie Etō
Yū Wakita
Riky Widianto
Richi Puspita Dili
2013[13] Kazuteru Kozai Kaori Imabeppu Kenta Kazuno
Kazushi Yamada
Lukhi Apri Nugroho
Annisa Saufika
2014[14] Ng Ka Long Yui Hashimoto Shizuka Matsuo
Mami Naito
Muhammad Rijal
Vita Marissa
2015[15] Jeon Hyeok-jin Sayaka Takahashi Chen Qingchen
Jia Yifan
Kim Duck-young
Eom Hye-won
2016 no competition[note 1]
2017[16] Yu Igarashi Sayaka Takahashi Wang Sijie
Zhuge Lukai
Kim So-yeong
Yoo Hae-won
Wang Sijie
Ni Bowen
2018[17] Ayumi Mine Hirokatsu Hashimoto
Hiroyuki Saeki
Naoko Fukuman
Kurumi Yonao
Kim Won-ho
Lee Yu-rim
2019[18] Koki Watanabe Saena Kawakami Ko Sung-hyun
Shin Baek-cheol
Sayaka Hobara
Natsuki Sone
Kim Won-ho
Jeong Na-eun
2020[19] Cancelled[note 2]
2021[20] Cancelled[note 3]
2022[21] Cancelled[note 4]
2023[22] Yushi Tanaka Shiori Saito Hiroki Midorikawa
Kyohei Yamashita
Lee Yu-lim
Shin Seung-chan
Wang Chan
Shin Seung-chan
2024[5] Cancelled and discontinued[note 5]
  1. ^ The 2016 tournament was cancelled due to the Nippon Badminton Association failing to meet the BWF application deadline.[2]
  2. ^ The 2020 tournament (1–5 April) was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
  3. ^ The 2021 tournament (31 March – 4 April) was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
  4. ^ The 2022 tournament (6–10 April) was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
  5. ^ The tournament was discontinued from 2024 onwards, as announced by the Nippon Badminton Association on 27 October 2023, citing funding reallocation.

Performances by nation

As of the finals of the 2023 edition
Pos Nation MS WS MD WD XD Total
1  Japan 10 12 9 10 3 44
2  South Korea 2 3 2 5 12
3  China 1 1 1 3
 Indonesia 3 3
5  Chinese Taipei 1 1
 Hong Kong 1 1
 Macau 1 1
Total 13 13 13 13 13 65

See also

References

  1. ^ "申請ミスでバドミントン国際大会開けず" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b "International Badminton Tournament Cancelled Due to Application Error" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 24 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Badminton Association misses deadline, international tournament cannot be held due to application error" (in Japanese). Daily Sports. 24 February 2016. Archived from the original on 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  4. ^ "International tournament unable to be held due to application error Nippon Badminton Association" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 24 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b "[Tournament Information] Osaka International Challenge, a gateway for young athletes, comes to an end" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  6. ^ "Press release regarding the tournament hosted by our association" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  7. ^ 2007 winners
  8. ^ 2008 winners
  9. ^ 2009 winners
  10. ^ 2010 winners
  11. ^ 2011 winners
  12. ^ 2012 winners
  13. ^ 2013 winners
  14. ^ 2014 winners
  15. ^ 2015 winners
  16. ^ "[IC] Yu Igarashi and Sayaka Takahashi win singles! <Osaka International>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  17. ^ 2018 winners
  18. ^ 2019 winners
  19. ^ 2020
  20. ^ 2021
  21. ^ 2022
  22. ^ 2023 winners