Kumamoto Masters 2025: Lakshya Sen bows down to Kenta Nishimoto in semis

Indian ace Lakshya Sen exited from the semifinals of the 2025 Kumamoto Masters Super500 tournament in Kumamoto City, Japan, on Saturday.

He lost to the home favourite Kenta Nishimoto in a tiring 77-minute three-game encounter, 19-21, 21-14, 12-21, and failed to reach his second final of the year.

This was Sen's second consecutive defeat against Nishimoto after the Indonesia Open prequarterfinal, taking their head-to-head record now levelling at 3-3.

This result might also end Sen's chase for a spot in this year's World Tour Finals, where he is currently sitting in 13th place on the Tour Rankings.

He has only competition left this year before the World Tour Finals, at the Australian Open, but he is still trailing by a big margin for the top-8 available spots.

In the semis today, Sen had a very good start in the opening game, but Nishimoto put some pressure on him, and he fell short in a tightly poised first game, 19-21.

Similarly, Nishimoto had a good start in the second game, but this time he wasn't able to convert it and let Lakshya back in the game, losing 14-21, forcing a decider.

In the final game, it was a clinical performance from the experienced Japanese shuttler as he maintained his lead throughout the game and converted it easily, 21-12.

As Sen was India's only remaining competitor here, this loss meant that India's campaign was over at the Kumamoto Masters in the semi-final stage.