# Kodai Naraoka

Kodai Naraoka (奈良岡 功大, Naraoka Kōdai, born 30 June 2001) is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with NTT East. Born in Aomori, he started playing badminton at the age of 5 with the influence of his father. He won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.
In his junior career, Naraoka has won a silver at the World Junior Championships in 2018, where he previously claimed a bronze in 2017. He represented his country competed at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, won the bronze medals in the boys' singles and mixed team event.

## Career
### 2019
#### Russian Open 2019

In the Russian Open 2019, Naraoka placed fifteenth, losing to Luka Wraber.

#### Mongolia International Challenge 2019

In the Mongolia International Challenge 2019, Naraoka placed sixth, losing to Cao Cuong Pham.

#### Ciputra Hanoi - Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2019

In the Ciputra Hanoi - Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2019, Naraoka placed sixth, losing to Chia Hung Lu.

#### V Jamaica International 2019

In the V Jamaica International 2019, Naraoka placed seventh, losing to Rosario Maddaloni.

#### BEER LAO International Series 2019

In the BEER LAO International Series 2019, Naraoka placed second, losing to Minoru Koga.

#### 2018 YONEX/K&D GRAPHICS International Challenge

In the 2018 YONEX/K&D GRAPHICS International Challenge, Naraoka placed sixteenth place, losing to Karan Rajan Rajarajan.

#### CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia International Challenge 2019

In the CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia International Challenge 2019, Naraoka placed sixth, losing to Peng Bo Ren.

### 2024
#### 2024 Australian Open

In the 2024 Australian Open, Naraoka managed to make it to the finals, against arguably his greatest rival, Lee Zii Jia. He lost, 21-16, 12-21, 12-21.

#### Victor Denmark Open 2024

In the Victor Denmark Open, Naraoka lost to Jonatan Christie, placing him fifth.

#### Yonex Canada Open 2024

In the Yonex Canada Open 2024, Naraoka placed second, losing to Anders Antonsen.

#### Yonex French Open 2024

In the Yonex French Open 2024, Naraoka placed fifth, losing to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

#### YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2024

In the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2024, Naraoka placed sixth, losing to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

#### Toyota Thailand Open 2024

In the Toyota Thailand Open 2024, Naraoka placed second, losing to Anders Antonsen.

#### Korea Open 2024

In the Korea Open 2024, Naraoka placed fourth, losing to Li Shifeng of China.

#### Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024

In the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024, Naraoka placed second, losing to Viktor Axelsen.

#### TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024

In the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024, Naraoka was chosen to represent Japan.

#### KFF Singapore Badminton Open 2024

In the KFF Singapore Badminton Open 2024, Naraoka placed fifth, losing to Anders Antonsen.

#### KAPAL API Indonesia Open 2024

In KAPAL API Indonesia Open 2024, Naraoka lost to Anders Antonsen, placing him fifth.

#### BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024

In BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024, Naraoka placed fourth, losing to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

#### LI-NING Hong Kong Open 2024

In LI-NING Hong Kong Open 2024, Naraoka lost to Li Shifeng, placing him fifth.

#### VICTOR China Open 2024

In the VICTOR China Open 2024, Naraoka placed sixth, losing to Anders Antonsen.

#### CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open 2024 powered by YONEX

In the CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open 2024 powered by YONEX, Naraoka placed second, losing to Anders Antonsen.

#### SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024

In the SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024, Naraoka placed second, losing to Jonatan Christie.

### 2025
#### Petronas Malaysia Open 2025

In the Petronas Malaysia Open 2025, Naraoka placed eight, losing to Li Shifeng.

#### YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2025

In the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2025, Naraoka lost to Li Shifeng, placing him sixth.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
| BWF Awards | 2022 | Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year | Won | |

## Achievements
### BWF World Championships

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2023 | Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 21–19, 18–21, 7–21 | Silver | |

### Asian Games

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2022 | Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China | Shi Yuqi | 5–21, 15–21 | Bronze | |

### Asian Championships

Men's singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2024 | Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, Ningbo, China | Li Shifeng | 21–14, 15–21, 12–21 | Bronze | |

### Youth Olympic Games

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2018 | Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Arnaud Merklé | 21–17, 24–26, 22–20 | Bronze | |

### World Junior Championships

Boys' singles
| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
| 2017 | Among Rogo Sports Hall, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Leong Jun Hao | 14–21, 20–22 | Bronze | |
| 2018 | Markham Pan Am Centre, Markham, Canada | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 9–21, 11–21 | Silver | |

### BWF World Tour (2 titles, 6 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018, 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, and the BWF Tour Super 100.
Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2022 | Korea Masters | Super 300 | Jeon Hyeok-jin | 17–21, 16–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Singapore Open | Super 500 | Anthony Sinisuka Ginting | 21–23, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Taipei Open | Super 300 | Chou Tien-chen | 21–14, 10–21, 6–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Vietnam Open | Super 100 | Sun Feixiang | 10–21, 21–14, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2023 | Malaysia Open | Super 1000 | Viktor Axelsen | 6–21, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | China Masters | Super 750 | Kenta Nishimoto | 21–13, 21–13 | Winner |
| 2024 | Australian Open | Super 500 | Lee Zii Jia | 19–21, 21–11, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | China Open | Super 1000 | Weng Hongyang | 17–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |

### BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles, 2 runners-up)

Men's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2018 | Osaka International | Yu Igarashi | 21–14, 11–21, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2018 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Koki Watanabe | 14–21, 21–14, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Lao International | Minoru Koga | 22–20, 22–20 | Winner |
| 2019 | Jamaica International | Kevin Cordón | 21–17, 21–8 | Winner |
| 2019 | Mongolia International | Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 9–21, 21–17, 23–21 | Winner |
| 2019 | Dubai International | Yusuke Onodera | 21–14, 21–17 | Winner |
| 2019 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Jason Ho-Shue | 21–13, 21–14 | Winner |
    BWF International Challenge tournament
    BWF International Series tournament

### BWF Junior International (1 runner-up)

Boys' singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2015 | Australian Junior International | Kenya Mitsuhashi | 20–22, 21–14, 16–21 | Runner-up |
    BWF Junior Future Series tournament

## Record against selected opponents

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 17 January 2025.
| Player | Matches | Win | Lost | Diff. |
| Shi Yuqi | 13 | 5 | 8 | –3 |
| Zhao Junpeng | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Chou Tien-chen | 5 | 0 | 5 | –5 |
| Anders Antonsen | 9 | 4 | 5 | –1 |
| Viktor Axelsen | 6 | 0 | 6 | –6 |
| Kevin Cordón | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Srikanth Kidambi | 4 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| Prannoy H. S. | 7 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
| Player | Matches | Win | Lost | Diff. |
| Lakshya Sen | 6 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Anthony Sinisuka Ginting | 3 | 0 | 3 | –3 |
| Sony Dwi Kuncoro | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Lee Zii Jia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Liew Daren | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Loh Kean Yew | 6 | 0 | 6 | –6 |
| Kunlavut Vitidsarn | 10 | 4 | 6 | –2 |
| Kantaphon Wangcharoen | 2 | 2 | 0 | +2 |