Kie Nakanishi (中西 貴映, Nakanishi Kie, born 24 December 1995) is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with the Biprogy team.[1] She won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Championships with her partner Rin Iwanaga. The duo reached a career-high ranking of world number 5 on 5 November 2024. Kie was part of the Japanese women's team that won the bronze medal at the 2024 Asia Team Championships.

Kie Nakanishi
中西 貴映
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (1995-12-24) 24 December 1995 (age 28)
Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
HandednessLeft
CoachKarel Mainaky [de]
Kei Nakashima
Women's doubles
Highest ranking5 (with Rin Iwanaga, 5 November 2024)
Current ranking5 (with Rin Iwanaga, 5 November 2024)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  Japan
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Manila Women's doubles
Asia Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Selangor Women's team
BWF profile

Career

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2023–2024

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At the start of 2024, Nakanishi and Iwanaga reached a career-high ranking of 15th in the world. This achievement followed a productive end to 2023, when the pair reached the semi-finals of the Arctic Open and the Denmark Open.[2] They won their first title together at the Syed Modi India International in November.[3] The pair carried their momentum into 2024, where they made another breakthrough at the Malaysia Open. They defeated the tournament's third seeds, Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong, to secure a spot in the quarter-finals. This is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals of a Super 1000 tournament, a testament to their growing strength as a pair. Looking ahead, Iwanaga and Nakanishi have set their goals for the rest of the year. They aim to finish in the top eight of the world rankings and qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals.[4]

Nakanishi and Iwanaga won the women's doubles title at the 2024 Denmark Open. It was their first Super 750 title and their fifth consecutive tournament final win of the year. They maintained a perfect record at finals in 2024, having won the 2024 Spain Masters,[5] Malaysia Masters,[6] U.S. Open,[7] and Canada Open.[8] In the semi-finals, they defeated Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee after a 95-minute battle for their first win in seven matches against the pair.[9] In the final, they beat the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists and newly crowned world No. 1 pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in straight games 21–18, 21–14. This win solidified their position as the second-ranked pair in the BWF World Tour Finals rankings, and it was their second win over Liu and Tan in three encounters. This win was particularly significant as Nakanishi and Iwanaga became the second non-Chinese pair to defeat Liu and Tan since the Paris Olympics, the other being Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.[10]

Achievements

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Asian Championships

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Muntinlupa Sports Complex,
Metro Manila, Philippines
  Rin Iwanaga   Chen Qingchen
  Jia Yifan
11–21, 15–21   Silver

BWF World Tour (7 titles, 2 runners-up)

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The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[11] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[12]

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Level Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Russian Open Super 100   Chisato Hoshi   Chow Mei Kuan
  Lee Meng Yean
21–11, 21–18   Winner
2019 Dutch Open Super 100   Rin Iwanaga   Gabriela Stoeva
  Stefani Stoeva
10–21, 20–22   Runner-up
2021 Hylo Open Super 500   Rin Iwanaga   Chisato Hoshi
  Aoi Matsuda
20–22, 18–21   Runner-up
2023 Syed Modi International Super 300   Rin Iwanaga   Tanisha Crasto
  Ashwini Ponnappa
21–14, 17–21, 21–15   Winner [3]
2024 Spain Masters Super 300   Rin Iwanaga   Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma
  Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi
12–21, 21–8, 21–16   Winner [5]
2024 Malaysia Masters Super 500   Rin Iwanaga   Lee Yu-lim
  Shin Seung-chan
17–21, 21–19, 21–18   Winner [6]
2024 U.S. Open Super 300   Rin Iwanaga   Laksika Kanlaha
  Phataimas Muenwong
21–19, 21–15   Winner [7]
2024 Canada Open Super 500   Rin Iwanaga   Hsu Yin-hui
  Lin Jhih-yun
21–13, 21–13   Winner [8]
2024 Denmark Open Super 750   Rin Iwanaga   Liu Shengshu
  Tan Ning
21–18, 21–14   Winner [10]

BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles)

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Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref
2019 South Australia International   Rin Iwanaga   Setyana Mapasa
  Gronya Somerville
21–15, 19–21, 21–9   Winner
2019 Dubai International   Rin Iwanaga   Alexandra Bøje
  Mette Poulsen
18–21, 21–15, 21–17   Winner
2021 Belgian International   Rin Iwanaga   Julie MacPherson
  Ciara Torrance
21–12, 21–15   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ "選手・スタッフ紹介" (in Japanese). Unisys. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. ^ Kumar, Prem (21 October 2023). "Denmark Open: 'Arctic Outing' Sparks Iwanaga/Nakanishi". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Ponnappa-Crasto lose to Japan's Iwanga-Nakanishi in final". Scroll. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  4. ^ Kumar, Prem (11 January 2024). "Malaysia Open: Iwanaga/nakanishi Thump Another Barrier". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Competition at its best at the Madrid Spain Masters by Iberdrola". Spain Masters. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b Tan, Ming Wai (26 May 2024). "Mighty Axelsen beats spirited Zii Jia in epic Malaysia Masters final". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b "US Open: Nidaira Wins Thriller; Double for Teeraratsakul". Badminton World Federation. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ^ a b Sukumar, Dev (8 July 2024). "Canada Open: 'Dream Come True'". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  9. ^ Pierre, Dianne (20 October 2024). "Denmark Open: Danes 'Desperate to Make Chance Count'". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  10. ^ a b Pierre, Dianne; Kumar, Prem (22 October 2024). "Denmark Open: Iwanaga/Nakanishi Step Forward for Japan". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  11. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  12. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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