Lakshya Sen beats Koki Watanabe to win Japan Open title

Lakshya Sen beat Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 to win the Kumamoto Masters Japan Open men's singles title at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Kumamoto on Sunday, November 15, 2026. The match lasted one hour and four minutes.

The victory made Sen the first Indian to claim the Kumamoto Masters Japan title. It was his second consecutive BWF Super 500 crown and his second World Tour title of the season. The win also marked his seventh career title. Sen, ranked world No.

13 and seeded eighth, had entered the tournament after winning the Hylo Open in Germany, where he defeated Indonesia's defending champion Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 in the final.

At Japan Masters, 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 beat Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in under 39 minutes to enter the final four. Though he withdrew from the Korea Open, his strong showing in Japan strengthens his bid to qualify for the season-ending BWF Tour Finals.

Coming into the final, Lakshya held a 3-2 lead over Watanabe in their career head-to-head, although the Japanese had won their last two meetings. Watanabe opened up a 3-0 lead, with Lakshya being a tad laid-back initially.

The Japanese nailed his smashes to perfection, varying the pace. He repeatedly produced straight down-the-line smashes on Lakshya's forehand side to move to 6-1. Lakshya cut down the lead to 5-8. A judgement error and then a wide return made it 5-10.

An angled smash from the Indian was followed by a net error as Watanabe took a five-point advantage into the break. On resumption, Lakshya fought his way back to 10-12, with the Indian producing a straight smash and a defensive block.

Another superb return-to-serve helped him close the gap to 11-12. The Indian dived to save a point, only to send the shuttle long. Another shot going long took Watanabe to a 15-11 lead.

Watanabe looked in control as he continued to find winners to establish a six-point lead at 18-12. The Japanese soon grabbed eight game points with another straight return. The Indian saved one before going wide.

A change of sides brought a change of fortune as Lakshya surged to a 5-0 lead. The Indian took control of the net and didn't allow his opponent to find his way.

He pounced on a loose net shot, and a net error from his opponent helped him maintain his 5-0 lead. A perfect cross-court smash earned him a five-point lead at the break.

Despite a few errors, Lakshya's quick racquet speed helped him maintain his lead at 15-10. Watanabe also committed many errors, hitting wide and into the net, to leave the Indian three points away from forcing a decider.

The Japanese fought back from 10-19 to make it 17-19, but Lakshya soon grabbed three game points and closed out the match 21-14.

Eighth seed Lakshya was 12th in the Race to Finals standings with 64,980 points before this event, and needed to break into the top eight to qualify for the season-ending event.

The title at the Super 500 event earned Lakshya 9,200 points, which will lift him to sixth place in the standings with 74,180 points when they are updated on Tuesday.

However, the race to Hangzhou is not over yet, as the Hong Kong Open from November 17 to 22 is the last qualifying event.

What happens next

The Hong Kong Open runs from November 17 to 22 and is the last qualifying event for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.

Final score and key figures

Race to Finals standings

Related on Apex Sports News

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

• Lakshya Sen beats Alwi Farhan to reach Kumamoto Masters final

• Japan Masters 2026: Lakshya Sen reaches semifinals as Srikanth exits

Sources

• thehindu.com

• sportstar.thehindu.com