NARAOKA Kodai

From a young age, Naraoka Kodai's fate seemed to be intertwined with badminton. His father, Hiroshi, a badminton instructor, introduced him to the game.

Young Kodai practised relentlessly, swinging so hard that he left a hole in the wall of their family home. Despite this mishap, the Japanese star's talent shone through as he won the national junior high school tournament for three consecutive years.

Naraoka won a bronze medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and a silver medal at the 2018 World Junior Championships, establishing himself as a rising star in badminton.

In 2022, he achieved his first BWF World Tour podium finish at the Gwangju Korea Masters, was runner-up at the Singapore Open, and secured his first-ever World Tour title at the Super 100-level Vietnam Open. In December 2023, he became the first Japanese player to win the China Masters at 22.

The Aomori native aims to become the first from Japan to win a medal in men's singles at Paris 2024 and overcome obstacles just like the wall in his childhood home.