Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka to reach Australian Open quarterfinal: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026 in Indian men’s singles?

After defeating in-form Kodai Naraoka 21-17, 21-16 at the Australian Open Super 500, the tall shuttler runs into senior Lakshya Sen in the last eight at Sydney Olympic Park

Ayush Shetty (R) with Viktor Axelsen after a training stint earlier this year in August (Instagram/Ayush Shetty)

It’s a match-up Ayush Shetty likes. After making his maiden Super 500 quarterfinals at Hong Kong, beating Top 10 Kodai Naraoka (World No 9), the 6-foot-4 was at it again, defeating the Japanese 21-17, 21-16 at the Super 500 Australia Open in Sydney to take his career head-to-head to 2-1

The win in Hong Kong on September 11 followed a summer in which Ayush, still 20, had defeated Chou Tien Chen and Brian Yang to win the US Open, India’s only singles title of 2025. Coincidentally, he runs into Lakshya Sen just like in Hong Kong, and once again, the senior will need to restrain the free-flowing power-pounding game of Ayush to prove he’s still the biggest name in India. Sen, ranked No 14 now, had defeated Ayush in Hong Kong in three sets and leads 1-0. But the tall shuttler, even if stuck at World No 32, is increasingly asking questions of his academy mate with his imposing game.

It was the same booming game – with strength in the smashes and ability to negate speed that Kodai tried swamping the Indian with – that will test the canny Sen next.

Kodai, whose game has acquired a hint of urgency, and doesn’t dawdle endlessly in rallies any more, believed he had a measure of Ayush, a giant who has put in tremendous work into agility for lugging gaps in his flank defense. Ayush trailed 5-8 in the opener, and Kodai wouldn’t have guessed what was coming. Power, he knew, would rain down in the form of expansive cross smashes. But it was the flatter shuttle that Ayush slapped cross with a sort of top spin on it, and it glided over the net, that spooked Kodai.

A tiny 11-10 lead was not enough for the Japanese, who realised how Ayush would grow in strength and raced to take the next four points while ceding only two. It was sturdy defense and shot selections where even his defensive placements spoke of an attacking intent. The body smash to open up the first lead at 15-13, for example, came from a quick reaction parry. The following winner was a quick stride to the net, for a backhand short tap. And the opening set was won with a massive down-the-line.

It wasn’t too dissimilar to Hong Kong, but more clinical because Kodai seemed to have a plan to counter Ayush, but couldn’t execute it. Ayush led at the 11-point mark in the second, lost the lead, but then built a wave of points again to drown out the Japanese. The accuracy at the net was crucial, and confidence to hold his ground will play a part, when he takes on Sen who loves the eyeball confrontations and wins them often.

One of the more reassuring parts of Ayush’s defense were his low pick-ups, inches off the floor and a strong wrist pick & flick back over the net against Kodai. The Japanese can absorb all-out attacks, but even he was confounded by the offense wrapped up in standard scramble defense retrieves.

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The final point of the match was indicative of how Ayush can frustrate opponents by staying put. Kodai kept smashing down lifts with almighty power, three in a row, but when everything came back, he went for a drop that sailed wide.

A passing of the baton is underway in Indian men’s singles, not because Lakshya Sen has stepped up, and won titles this year. But after HS Prannoy (19-21, 10-21) and Kidambi Srikanth (20-22, 16-21) lost (significantly) to Gen Next’s Alwi Farhan and Shogo Ogawa respectively in Sydney on Thursday. That’s why Ayush’s striking semblance of consistency – with two Super 300 semifinals in Orleans and Taipei, and two quarters at Super 500s Hong Kong and Hylo Open besides the win at Super 300 US Open – stands out.

Sen, a semifinalist at the last Olympics and a far more rounded player than Ayush, still starts favourite in their matchups. But given the power game Ayush is capable of, the 25-year-old will need to be on his toes. Both like dominating the net, but it’s the variety from the back court that might decide who begins to wrap up the season and heads into 2026 with anticipation.