Ayush Shetty stuns Naraoka to reach Australian Open quarters; Satwik–Chirag ease through, Prannoy bows out

Young shuttler Ayush Shetty produced one of the biggest wins of his season, overpowering world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka in straight games to storm into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Super 500 in Sydney on Thursday. The 20-year-old, who lifted the US Open Super 300 title earlier this year, displayed maturity beyond his years to seal a 21-17, 21-16 victory in 68 minutes—his second win over Naraoka in 2025 after beating him at the Hong Kong Open.

The result sets up a mouth-watering all-Indian quarterfinal against Lakshya Sen, who survived a three-game tussle to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-Jen 21-17, 13-21, 21-13.

In men’s doubles, the world No. 1 Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty maintained their dominance, cruising past Chinese Taipei’s Su Ching Heng and Wu Guan Xun 21-18, 21-11 in just 37 minutes. They will face Indonesia’s fifth-seeded duo Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in the last eight.

While the younger crop flourished, senior pro H.S. Prannoy’s struggles continued. The 33-year-old, who hasn’t crossed the pre-quarterfinal stage this season, went down 19-21, 10-21 to Indonesia’s former junior world champion Farhan Alwi. Prannoy had survived a scare on Wednesday against world No. 85 Yohanes Saut Marcellyno before scraping through three games, but could not replicate the fight a day later.

Ayush, who traded points neck-and-neck with Naraoka for much of the opening game, closed it out clinically by taking the last three points from 18-17. The second game saw the Japanese stay in touch until 14-all, before the Indian shifted gears and reeled off five straight points to seize complete control and finish the contest with authority.

With Lakshya and Satwik–Chirag also advancing, India remains strongly placed heading into the final stages of the tournament—led by a fast-rising star who continues to shine on the big stage.