Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty retired hurt in his Round of 16 French Open badminton clash against Japan's Kodai Naraoka on Thursday. Ayush conceded the opening game 17-21 and was trailing 6-11 in the second when he stopped. This walkover ended his campaign after he earlier beat Kidambi Srikanth on Wednesday.
Ayush Shetty retires hurt in French Open 2026 clash against Kodai Naraoka left FILE IMAGE: Ayush Shetty saw his French Open campaign come to an end after retiring hurt during his Round of 16 match. REUTERS REUTERS https://ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/4pglmp/article71611208.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/2026-09-22T090931Z_727293020_UP1EM9M0PFU40_RTRMADP_3_GAMES-ASIA.JPG ELOISA LOPEZ Asian Games - Aichi-Nagoya 2026 - Badminton - Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, Ichinomiya, Japan - September 22, 2026 India's Ayush Shetty in action during his men's team quarter final match against Japan's Koki Watanabe REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Ayush had conceded the opening game 17-21 and was trailing 6-11 in the second, when he retired to give a walkover to the Japanese.
CHENNAI
Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty retired hurt in his Round of 16 French Open badminton clash against Japan's Kodai Naraoka on Thursday.
Ayush had conceded the opening game 17-21 and was trailing 6-11 in the second, when he retired to give a walkover to the Japanese.
In the opening game, the 21-year-old held a 16-11 lead, before Naraoka overturned the deficit to claim it 21-17.
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/badminton/tanvi-sharma-an-se-young-french-open-2026-second-round/article71611141.ece
This was Ayush's second straight defeat to Naraoka this year after he lost in three games at the Thailand Open in May.
Ayush had reached the Round of 16 after defeating compatriot and former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth 19-21, 21-16, 21-12 in his opening match on Wednesday.
Sixth seed Naraoka had advanced to the Round of 16 after Lakshya Sen withdrew ahead of their scheduled opening-round encounter.