Lakshya Sen wins Japan Masters, coach Vimal Kumar hails form

"This superb form makes him a serious contender for World Tour finals": Lakshya's coach after shuttler's back-to-back title wins

New Delhi, November 15

Lakshya continued his fine run at the BWF World Tour circuit this year, securing the Japan Masters title on Sunday. He beat Japan's Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in 64 minutes in the final on Sunday, as per ESPN, fighting back from being one game down.

Posting on X, his coach Vimal wrote, "Another outstanding performance from Lakshya! He completely outmanoeuvred an in-form Koki Watanabe in front of his home crowd in Japan, bringing back memories of the brilliance he displayed in 2021-22. Back-to-back titles and this superb form make him a serious contender for the World Tour Finals, should he qualify. A special word of appreciation for the coaching team! Their hard work, strategic planning and ability to bring out the best in Lakshya are clearly paying dividends. This resurgence is a credit to the entire team. Congratulations, Lakshya and the coaching team! Keep the momentum going!"

He defeated Indonesia's Alwi Farhan in a three-game semifinal to enter his second consecutive men's singles final at the Japan Masters Super 500 tournament on Saturday.

World No. 13 Lakshya registered a 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 victory over world No. 10 and sixth seed Farhan in the semifinal in Kumamoto, strengthening his chances of qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou. Sen recorded his first victory against Farhan, bringing their head-to-head score to 2-1.

The Indian shuttler, seeded eighth in the tournament, has been in good form after winning the Hylo Open title.

Lakshya defeated Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in straight games to clinch the men's singles title at the Hylo Open earlier this month. Lakshya registered a 21-17, 21-10 victory in the final, securing his seventh BWF World Tour title and his second Hylo Open crown.

Lakshya climbed eight places to reach the 10th spot in the race to the finals after securing the Hylo Open title earlier this month.

The Commonwealth Games champion has raised his chances of getting into the top eight with these two back-to-back title wins, entering the cut-off zone for the BWF World Tour Finals. The BWF Finals feature the top eight players/pairs across all disciplines and will take place this year from December 9 to 13 in China.

Last year at this event, Lakshya made it to the semifinals, losing to home favourite Kenta Nishimoto in three games. He also achieved a runners-up finish in the All England Open this year.

— ANI