Sportstar·India·Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 05:13 AM UTC

Lakshya Sen relishing pressure of back-to-back finals after reaching Japan Masters summit clash

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Having finished as a semifinalist on his previous visit to Kumamoto, Lakshya Sen was particularly pleased to go one step further this time, beating Alwi Farhan.

Updated : Nov 14, 2026 10:43 IST , Kumamoto - 3 MINS READ

Lakshya Sen had beaten Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, China’s Dong Tian Yao and Japan’s Yushi Tanaka on his way to the Japan Masters semifinal, dropping only one game before Saturday’s contest. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lakshya Sen is enjoying his badminton again, and the results are beginning to show. Fresh from winning the Hylo Open, the Indian shuttler has carried his momentum into the Japan Masters, reaching his second consecutive final with a three-game victory over Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan on Saturday.

The 25-year-old prevailed 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 in one hour and nine minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, setting up a title clash against either Japan’s Koni Watanabe or Thailand’s former World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Having finished as a semifinalist on his previous visit to Kumamoto, Lakshya was particularly pleased to go one step further this time.

“It feels very good to play here, and last time I was in the semifinal, so I was looking to better the result from last time, and now I’m happy with the way I played today. Now it’s time to recover again and get ready for a very tough match tomorrow,” he said after the match.

Lakshya had to negotiate a second-game setback against Farhan before taking control of the decider. The Indian said maintaining an early advantage in the third game was crucial to his victory.

“I think yes, it was important that I kept the lead in the third game from the beginning, and once it was 11-6, I changed the side. It was important the next three points were going to be very sharp, be attacking and it helped me and then score from four points to become 7. Then I was quite comfortable in the third set,” he said.

The Hylo Open triumph, where Lakshya defeated defending champion Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 in the final, was his first title of the season and seventh of his career. He believes the time away from competition after that demanding campaign helped him arrive in Japan in better shape.

“Yes, definitely. After the Hylo Open, I think it was a really tough tournament, and I took some time to prepare for this tournament. I went back home for Diwali, a very big festival in India, to my family and really recovered well. I’m happy with the way I’m playing here,” he said.

Lakshya had also beaten Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, China’s Dong Tian Yao and Japan’s Yushi Tanaka on his way to the semifinal, dropping only one game before Saturday’s contest.

With another title within reach, Lakshya said he was approaching the final without putting unnecessary pressure on himself.

“I guess I’m not taking so much pressure now because I think these are good performances, and I mean, again, tomorrow I go with a very free mindset of just performing my best and not thinking too much about the results. I’m really enjoying playing the final again,” he said.

A second successive title would further strengthen Lakshya’s bid to qualify for the season-ending BWF Tour Finals.

Published on Nov 14, 2026

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