Japan Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen reaches semifinals as Srikanth exits
Lakshya Sen beat Yushi Tanaka in straight games while Kidambi Srikanth lost to Koki Watanabe in the quarterfinals at Kumamoto.
Lakshya Sen advanced to the Japan Masters 2026 semifinals with a 21-16, 21-15 win over Yushi Tanaka. Kidambi Srikanth exited after a 22-24, 15-21 defeat to Koki Watanabe.
Key takeaways
- Lakshya Sen won 21-16, 21-15 against Yushi Tanaka in 40 minutes
- Kidambi Srikanth lost 22-24, 15-21 to Koki Watanabe
- Lakshya will face Alwi Farhan in the semifinals
- The tournament is a BWF World Tour Super 500 event in Kumamoto
India had a mixed day at the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 Super 500 on Friday, with Lakshya Sen advancing to the men’s singles semifinals while Kidambi Srikanth bowed out in the quarterfinals.
The eighth-seeded Indian defeated Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in a 40-minute contest to reach the last four. Sen led 11-8 at the interval in the opening game before Tanaka mounted a mini comeback.
Sen raised his intensity at the right time to close out the game 21-16. The second game was closely contested in the early exchanges, with the scores level at 4-4.
Sen edged ahead to take an 11-9 lead at the interval and maintained his advantage to seal the match with a 21-15 win. With this victory, Lakshya extended his head-to-head record against Tanaka to 3-0.
Lakshya Sen’s run and Srikanth’s exit
Lakshya Sen has been in impressive form throughout the tournament. He opened his campaign with a 21-19, 21-18 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen before dispatching China’s Dong Tian Yao 21-8, 21-14 in just 35 minutes in the second round.
He arrived in Japan after winning the Hylo Open in Germany earlier this month. He will now face Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in the semifinals. Earlier on Friday, Kidambi Srikanth lost 22-24, 15-21 to Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the quarterfinals.
Srikanth put up a fight in the opening game but narrowly missed out after Watanabe took it 24-22. The Japanese shuttler carried that momentum into the second game to complete the victory. This was the first time that the Japanese defeated Srikanth in their three meetings.
About the tournament and the players
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 currently 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. Lakshya Sen is an Indian badminton player.
He has won bronze at the World Championships and gold at the Commonwealth Games. Sen won gold and bronze at the Thomas Cup, and silver at the Asian and Commonwealth Games in team events.
He also won bronze at the Asia Team and Asia Mixed Team Championships. Sen competed in the men’s singles event at the 2024 Olympics, where he finished fourth after narrowly losing the bronze medal match.
With Lakshya now the only Indian remaining in the competition, all eyes will be on his semifinal clash against Farhan as he aims to secure a place in the final.
Quarterfinal results at Japan Masters 2026
Player | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Lakshya Sen | Yushi Tanaka | 21-16, 21-15 | Won |
Kidambi Srikanth | Koki Watanabe | 22-24, 15-21 | Lost |
Related on Apex Sports News
Japan Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen beats Chi Yu Jen to reach Round of 16
Kidambi Srikanth beats world number eight Naraoka to reach Japan Masters quarter-finals
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