is a former Japanese badminton player. She was the women's singles national champion in 2001 and 2003. Mori won the bronze medal at the 2004 Asian Championships and also the silver medals in 2005 and 2006. She played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics, defeating Anu Weckström of Finland in the first round but losing to Zhou Mi of China in the round of 16. She also helps the Japanese women's team to win bronze at the 2004 Uber Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Career Mori began playing badminton at the age of eight, influenced by her mother and practicing alongside her twin sister. She won the singles title at the National Junior High School Championships. While attending Kyushu International University High School, she finished runner-up in singles at the Inter-High School Championships in 1995 and was runner-up in both singles and doubles in 1996. Internationally, she won a bronze medal with the Japanese girls' team at the 1997 Asian Junior Championships in Manila.

After graduating from high school, Mori joined the Sanyo Electric corporate badminton team. She placed third in women's singles at the All Japan Championships in 1998, and finished runner-up in 2000. She also competed internationally in women's doubles with Megumi Oniike, reaching the semifinals of the Dutch Open in 2000.

In 2001, Mori reached the women's singles semifinals at the Japan Open, making her the first Japanese player to reach that stage of the tournament in 14 years. Domestically, she captured two national women's singles titles at the All Japan Championships, winning in 2001 and 2003. On the international circuit in 2003, Mori won the singles title at the Slovak International, defeating Petya Nedelcheva in the final, and finished as runner-up at both the Waikato International and Western Australia International.

In April 2004, Mori won a bronze medal in the women's singles at the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur, losing to Wang Chen in the semifinals. The following month, she helped Japan win a bronze medal in the women's team event at the 2004 Uber Cup in Jakarta.

In 2004, Mori represented Japan in the women's singles at the Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the opening round, she defeated Finland's Anu Weckström in straight games. She was eliminated in the second round by China's Zhou Mi, making her the only Japanese women's singles player to advance past the opening round at the tournament.

At the 2005 Asian Championships in Hyderabad, Mori reached the women's singles final, where she lost to Wang Chen to earn the silver medal. Later that year, Mori reached the women's singles quarterfinals at the 2005 World Championships in Anaheim, where she was defeated by defending Olympic and world champion Zhang Ning. She reached the final again at the 2006 Asian Championships in Johor Bahru, finishing runner-up to Wang for the second consecutive year. Later in 2006, Mori helped Japan win the silver medal in the women's team event at the Asian Games in Doha.

In December 2007, Mori reached the women's singles final at the Irish International, finishing as runner-up to Elizabeth Cann. In April 2009, she partnered Aya Wakisaka to reach the women's doubles final at the Osaka International, where they finished runners-up to Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi.

After retiring from competitive play, Mori became an assistant coach of the Sanyo Electric badminton team. She later worked as a coach for Japan's under-16 junior national team. She has also served as a Mizuno badminton advisory staff member and appeared as a guest player at the 2019 Mizuno Omotenashi Cup Japan.

Achievements Asian Championships Women's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2004 Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Wang Chen 4–11, 2–11 Bronze 2005Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, India Wang Chen8–11, 4–11 Silver 2006Bandaraya Stadium, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Wang Chen14–21, 21–9, 13–21 Silver

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title, 4 runners-up) Women's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref 2003 Waikato International Kanako Yonekura 4–11, 2–11 Runner-up 2003Western Australia International Miho Tanaka8–11, 10–13 Runner-up 2003Slovak International Petya Nedelcheva11–6, 11–6 Winner 2007Irish International Elizabeth Cann19–21, 9–21 Runner-up

Women's doubles Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref2009Osaka International Aya Wakisaka Misaki Matsutomo Ayaka Takahashi16–21, 21–16, 22–24 Runner-up BWF International Challenge tournament BWF International Series tournament

References

External links

Kaori Mori at Sankei Sports