Nyl Kiyoshi Yakura (born 14 February 1993) is a Canadian badminton player.[1][2] He captured two gold medals at the Pan American Games, winning the men's doubles title in 2019 and 2023, and also a silver in the mixed doubles in 2019.[3][4] Yakura, who grew up in Pickering, Ontario, currently lives in Toronto and trains at the KC Badminton Club in Markham.[5] He has Japanese and Indonesian heritage.[6]
Career
Yakura competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[7]
In June 2021, Yakura was named to Canada's Olympic team.[8] Competing in the men's doubles event with Jason Ho-Shue, his pace was stopped in the group stage.[9]
Achievements
Pan American Games
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Polideportivo 3, Lima, Peru |
 Jason Ho-Shue
|
 Phillip Chew Ryan Chew
|
21–11, 19–21, 21–18 |  Gold
|
| 2023 | Olympic Training Center, Santiago, Chile |
Adam Dong
|
 Fabrício Farias Davi Silva
|
19–21, 21–15, 21–18 | Gold
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Polideportivo 3, Lima, Peru |
Kristen Tsai
|
Joshua Hurlburt-Yu Josephine Wu
|
21–18, 12–21, 15–21 |  Silver
|
Pan Am Championships
Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
Kevin Li
|
Adrian Liu Derrick Ng
|
21–17, 6–21, 16–21 | Silver
|
| 2016 | Clube Fonte São Paulo, Campinas, Brazil |
Jason Ho-Shue
|
Phillipe Gaumond Maxime Marin
|
21–13, 21–13 | Gold
|
| 2017 | Sports City Coliseum, Havana, Cuba |
Jason Ho-Shue
|
Austin Bauer Ty Alexander Lindeman
|
21–18, 21–6 | Gold
|
| 2018 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
Jason Ho-Shue
|
Phillip Chew Ryan Chew
|
21–17, 21–17 | Gold
|
| 2019 | Gimnasio Olímpico, Aguascalientes, Mexico |
Jason Ho-Shue
|
 Osleni Guerrero Leodannis Martínez
|
21–11, 20–22, 21–10 | Gold
|
| 2021 | Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
Jason Ho-Shue
|
Phillip Chew Ryan Chew
|
Walkover | Silver
|
| 2022 | Palacio de los Deportes Carlos "El Famoso" Hernández, San Salvador, El Salvador |
Adam Dong
|
 Job Castillo Luis Montoya
|
21–17, 19–21, 13–21 |  Bronze
|
| 2023 | G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, Kingston, Jamaica |
Adam Dong
|
Kevin Lee Ty Alexander Lindeman
|
21–10, 16–21, 22–20 | Gold
|
| 2024 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
Adam Dong
|
Chen Zhi-yi Presley Smith
|
14–21, 11–21 | Silver
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Clube Fonte São Paulo, Campinas, Brazil |
Brittney Tam
|
Nathan Osborne Josephine Wu
|
21–17, 21–17 | Gold
|
| 2017 | Sports City Coliseum, Havana, Cuba |
Brittney Tam
|
Toby Ng Rachel Honderich
|
13–21, 14–21 | Silver
|
| 2018 | Teodoro Palacios Flores Gymnasium, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
Kristen Tsai
|
Ty Alexander Lindeman Josephine Wu
|
14–21, 24–26 | Silver
|
| 2019 | Gimnasio Olímpico, Aguascalientes, Mexico |
Kristen Tsai
|
Fabrício Farias Jaqueline Lima
|
22–24, 19–21 | Bronze
|
| 2022 | Palacio de los Deportes Carlos "El Famoso" Hernández, San Salvador, El Salvador |
Crystal Lai
|
Ty Alexander Lindeman Josephine Wu
|
14–21, 15–21 | Bronze
|
Pan Am Junior Championships
Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Luiz Enrique Dias Dos Santos Junior
|
18–21, 21–18, 21–11 | Gold
|
Boys' doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Henry Wiebe
|
Neil Tai-Pow Andrew Wilkinson
|
21–8, 21–18 | Gold
|
| 2011 | National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica |
Clinton Wong
|
Andrew Lau Andrew Wilkinson
|
16–21, 21–17, 21–8 | Gold
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | Adrianna Giuffre
|
Michael Diamond Surabhi Kadam
|
19–21, 21–16, 21–16 | Gold
|
| 2011 | National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica |
Adrianna Giuffre
|
Andrew Wilkinson Jody Chan
|
21–18, 17–21, 21–16 | Gold
|
BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles, 6 runners-up)
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | B. R. Sankeerth
|
 Frederik Colberg Rasmus Fladberg
|
8–21, 21–18, 6–21 |  Runner-up
|
| 2017 | Internacional Mexicano | Jason Ho-Shue
|
Job Castillo Lino Muñoz
|
18–21, 21–11, 21–17 |  Winner
|
| 2018 | Brazil International | Jason Ho-Shue
|
 Tarun Kona Saurabh Sharma
|
21–7 retired | Winner
|
| 2019 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Jason Ho-Shue
|
 Chen Xin-yuan Lin Yu-chieh
|
21–23, 20–22 | Runner-up
|
| 2021 | Internacional Mexicano | Adam Dong
|
 Fabio Caponio Giovanni Toti
|
21–10, 21–10 | Winner
|
| 2022 | Sydney International | Adam Dong
|
Lee Fang-chih Lee Fang-jen
|
12–21, 21–16, 16–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2022 | Peru Challenge | Adam Dong
|
Jason Ho-Shue Joshua Hurlburt-Yu
|
15–21, 21–18, 12–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2023 | Peru Challenge | Adam Dong
|
Kevin Lee Ty Alexander Lindeman
|
16–21, 18–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2023 | Canadian International | Adam Dong
|
 Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif Jonathan Lai
|
21–13, 17–21, 15–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2024 | Hungarian International | Jonathan Lai
|
 Oliver Butler Samuel Jones
|
9–21, 21–11, 21–11 | Winner
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Kristen Tsai
|
 Oliver Leydon-Davis Susannah Leydon-Davis
|
21–11, 21–8 | Winner
|
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
- BWF Future Series tournament
References
- ^ "Nyl Yakura biography". BWF-Tournament Software. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
- ^ "Nyl Yakura". Badminton Canada. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Canada's badminton team enjoys dominant day at Pan Ams". CBC.ca. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ Fenton, Caela (25 October 2023). "Day 5 at Santiago 2023: Mac Neil makes history, badminton gold rush". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
- ^ "Pickering's Nyl Yakura follows mother's advice in pursuit of Olympics". Durham Region News. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Road to the Olympics: Badminton champ Nyl Yakura wins second consecutive Pan Am gold". Nikkei Voice | The Japanese Canadian National Newspaper. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Participants: Nyl Yakura". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ Awad, Brandi (16 June 2021). "Team Canada to have its largest Olympic badminton team ever at Tokyo 2020". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Yakura Nyl". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
External links
- Nyl Yakura at BWFBadminton.com
- Nyl Yakura at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (alternate link) (archived)
- Nyl Yakura at Olympedia (archive)
- Nyl Yakura at Olympics.com
- Nyl Yakura at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
- Nyl Yakura on Facebook
