Kodai Naraoka

Kodai Naraoka
Personal information
CountryJapan
Born (2001-06-30) 30 June 2001
Aomori, Aomori, Japan
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Weight69 kg (152 lb)[1]
HandednessRight
CoachSho Sasaki
Kazumasa Sakai
Naraoka Hiroshi
Men's singles
Career record239 wins, 107 losses
Highest ranking2 (12 December 2023)
Current ranking7 (8 July 2025)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Japan
World Championships
2023 Copenhagen Men's singles
Sudirman Cup
2023 Suzhou Mixed team
2025 Xiamen Mixed team
Thomas Cup
2020 Aarhus Men's team
2022 Bangkok Men's team
Asian Games
2022 Hangzhou Men's singles
2022 Hangzhou Men's team
Asian Championships
2024 Ningbo Men's singles
Asia Team Championships
2020 Manila Men's team
2024 Selangor Men's team
Youth Olympic Games
2018 Buenos Aires Boys' singles
World Junior Championships
2018 Markham Boys' singles
2016 Bilbao Mixed team
2017 Yogyakarta Boys' singles
2017 Yogyakarta Mixed team
2018 Markham Mixed team
Asian Junior Championships
2017 Jakarta Mixed team
Representing Mixed-NOCs
Youth Olympic Games
2018 Buenos Aires Mixed team
BWF profile

Kodai Naraoka (奈良岡 功大, Naraoka Kōdai; born 30 June 2001) is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with NTT East.[2] Born in Aomori, he started playing badminton at the age of 5 with the influence of his father.[3] He won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.[4]

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.[5]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Result Ref.
BWF Awards 2022 Eddy Choong Most Promising Player of the Year Won [6]

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 [4]

Asian Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China Shi Yuqi 5–21, 15–21 Bronze [7]

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 [8]

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 [9]

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 [10]
2018 Markham Pan Am Centre, Markham, Canada Kunlavut Vitidsarn 9–21, 11–21 Silver [11]

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

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[12] 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.[13]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref
2022 Korea Masters Super 300 Jeon Hyeok-jin 17–21, 16–21 Runner-up [14]
2022 Singapore Open Super 500 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21–23, 17–21 Runner-up [15]
2022 Taipei Open Super 300 Chou Tien-chen 21–14, 10–21, 6–21 Runner-up [16]
2022 Vietnam Open Super 100 Sun Feixiang 10–21, 21–14, 21–17 Winner [17]
2023 Malaysia Open Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 6–21, 15–21 Runner-up [18]
2023 China Masters Super 750 Kenta Nishimoto 21–13, 21–13 Winner [19]
2024 Australian Open Super 500 Lee Zii Jia 19–21, 21–11, 18–21 Runner-up [20]
2024 China Open Super 1000 Weng Hongyang 17–21, 12–21 Runner-up [21]

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 4 May 2025.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "選手 奈良岡 功大 (ならおか こうだい)" (in Japanese). Japanese Olympic Committee. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  2. ^ "選手プロフィール" (in Japanese). Nippon Badminton Association. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ "最年少勝利の奈良岡、夢はもちろん「東京五輪で金」/バドミントン" (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Kunlavut outlasts Naraoka in men's final at badminton world championships". The Japan Times. 28 August 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. ^ "【バド×スピ! 連載〈第14回〉】「最後まであきらめなかったことは今後につながる」" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Axelsen, Zheng and Huang Rewarded For Stellar Seasons". Badminton World Federation. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  7. ^ "バドミントン男女シングルス奈良岡功大と大堀彩が銅メダル獲得 日本勢2大会連続 【アジア大会】" (in Japanese). TBS. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  8. ^ "【アジア選手権2024】奈良岡功大はファイナルゲームで敗れベスト4<準決勝結果>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  9. ^ "【ユース五輪】奈良岡功大が男子シングルスで銅メダル!団体も銅を獲得!" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  10. ^ Alleyne, Gayle (21 October 2017). "Contrasting Fortunes – Semi-Finals: BWF World Junior Championships 2017". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  11. ^ "【世界ジュニア2018】奈良岡は決勝で敗れて銀メダル!<決勝戦>" (in Japanese). Badminton Spirit. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  14. ^ Palar, Sanjeev (17 April 2022). "Home heroes sweep majority of titles at 2022 Korea Masters as Olympic champ Chen Yu Fei beaten by He Bingjiao again". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Anthony ends slump to win Singapore Badminton Open". The Jakarta Post. 19 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Tai and Chou thrill with Taipei Open finals wins". Taipei Times. 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Nguyen Thuy Linh wins trophy at Vietnam Open badminton tournament". Vietnam Plus. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  18. ^ "アクセルセンがマレーシアOP優勝、奈良岡は疲労隠せず準V". AFPBB. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  19. ^ Sukumar, Dev (26 November 2023). "China Masters: Naraoka Breaks Title Jinx". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  20. ^ Jiwani, Rory (16 June 2024). "BWF Australian Open 2024: Lee Zii Jia outlasts Naraoka Kodai to claim second title in a month". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  21. ^ Tanaka, Yukifima (22 September 2024). "宮崎友花と奈良岡功大は準優勝|バドミントン・中国オープン2024" (in Japanese). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Kodai NARAOKA head to head". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 4 May 2025.