Star Indian athlete Lakshya Sen enters the Kumamoto Masters semifinals after defeating Japan’s Yushi TanakaScroll down to read the full story
Published: November 13, 2026, 11:36 AM IST
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Lakshya Sen qualifies for the Kumamoto Masters 2026 semifinals after defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka (Image – X)
Star Indian athlete and one of the finest badminton players of all time, Lakshya Sen is displaying his exceptional performanceHis impressive run helped him to reach the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament’s semifinals on Friday.
He achieved this milestone after thrashing Japan’s Yushi Tanka 21-16, 21-15 in a 40-minute matchHe delivered his sensational performance in both games to reach the last four stageMeanwhile, India’s senior player, Kidambi Srikanth, suffered a loss in the quarterfinal match.
Recently, Lakshya Sen displayed his brilliance in the Hylo Open by winning itHis next aim after this achievement will be finishing among the top eight players in the BWF World Tour rankings as it will help the Indian star to enter the season-ending tournament in ChinaCurrently, he has secured 12th place with 64,980 points.
Talking about this intense match, both players started the first game with quick shots and kept scoring pointsDuring the match, the Indian athlete gained momentum by increasing his lead when the score was 5-5 and moved ahead by 11-7His opponent gave a strong fight by scoring some important points.
But, Lakshya continuously scored points and won the game on his second chance with a good shotThe second game was also close as both players gave a tough fight to each other with the score tied at 3-3 and then 9-9But, Lakshya hit some smashes and increased the lead in the game, which helped him move ahead 17-13After that, he got five match points and won when Tanaka hit the shuttle into the net.
Lakshya Sen will now face Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in the semisSpeaking about Farhan, the Indonesian athlete is the sixth seed and ranked World No10He faced Lakshya twice and succeeded in defeating and dominating the Indian athlete.
Speaking about India’s senior athlete, Kidambi Srikkanth, he suffered a defeat against Japan’s Koki Watanabe, which caused him the semifinalKoki Watanabe defeated him 24-22, 21-15.
Discussing more about this matchThe Indian athlete was seen to be more controlled and calmed in this matchBut, some silly mistakes and blunders led him to defeat, which gave the momentum to Koki Watanabe.
On Thursday, the Indian athlete presented an outstanding performance by thrashing Japan’s World No8 Kodai NaraokaWho is a two-time silver medallist at the World Championships.
However, Srikanth suffered the first game 22-24, after a close fightIn the second start, he got a strong start as he took a 12-5 leadBut, his opponent made a strong comeback and won the game by 21-15, which helped him to enter the semifinals of the tournament.
