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Japan Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen beats Chi Yu Jen to reach Round of 16

The Indian shuttler won 21-19, 21-18 at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Lakshya Sen
Lakshya Sen (file photo) Photo: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Lakshya Sen defeated Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in the Round of 32 at the Japan Masters on Wednesday. He will face China's Dong Tianyao in the Round of 16 on Thursday.

Key takeaways

  • Lakshya Sen beat Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in the Round of 32.
  • The match took place at the Japan Masters on Wednesday.
  • Lakshya will play Dong Tianyao in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
  • This was his first competitive outing since winning the Hylo Open in Germany.
  • India's mixed doubles pairs lost their Round of 32 matches.

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen beat Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in the Round of 32 at the Japan Masters on Wednesday.

What we know

The eighth-seeded Indian’s victory came after his recent win at the Hylo Open in Germany earlier this month, his first competitive outing since that title.

At 10-10 in the opening game, both players traded high-tempo drives, testing each other’s backcourt defence early, and neither was willing to be the first to blink. Sen was trailing 12-16 before he fought back to take a closely-fought game 21-19.

Having taken the tight opening game, Lakshya carried that composure into the second, and the early 6-4 lead showed he had settled into the match.

His deep lunging footwork let him dig out shots that looked unreachable, dragging the rally on until Chi Yu Jen was forced into the mistake.

The rallies intensified and Chi Yu Jen threw everything into the exchanges, forcing Lakshya to absorb pressure he had controlled so comfortably earlier in the game.

His trademark court coverage turned long, extended rallies into a war of attrition, and Chi Yu Jen’s resistance wore down as the match went on. With this victory, the 25-year-old edged ahead 2-1 in the head-to-head meetings with Yu Jen.

Why it matters

The Japan Masters is an annual badminton tournament held in Japan. BWF categorised Japan Masters as one of the nine BWF World Tour Super 500 events in the BWF events.

On 18 April 2022, the city of Kumamoto was confirmed to be the host of this tournament for the 2023–2026 BWF World Tour cycle.

The 2026 Japan Masters is taking place at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Kumamoto, Japan, from 10 to 15 November 2026 and had a total prize of US$500,000.

What happens next

Lakshya will next take on China’s Dong Tianyao in the Round of 16 on Thursday.

By the numbers

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