Kumamoto Masters Japan: Lakshya Sen reaches his third final of the year

Lakshya Sen continued his good form on the circuit, reaching his third final of the year at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 on Saturday.

This was also his second consecutive final on the tour, following the title-winning run at the Hylo Open last month, and he is now the first Indian to reach the tournament's final since its inception in 2023.

Sen came through 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 in a 70-minute encounter against sixth seed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in the semi-finals to book his place in the summit clash.

Sen started strongly, comfortably taking the opening game, but Farhan fought back to level the contest by claiming the second game. However, Sen regained control in the decider, producing a dominant performance to seal the victory.

With this win, Sen registered his first victory over Farhan on the international circuit, improving his head-to-head record to 1-2.

This also helped him to secure some crucial ranking points, that may help to qualify for the 2026 World Tour finals, which is currently tightly posed among 4-5 athletes for the last few places.

He will next face Japan's Koki Watanabe in the final on Sunday. The latter won the last two meetings between them but had a 2-3 head-to-head record against Sen.