Akane Yamaguchi wins Kumamoto Masters with An Se-young absent

TOKYO – Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi beat China’s Wang Zhiyi to win the Kumamoto Masters title on home soil on Nov 15, with all-conquering world No. 1 An Se-young not competing at the tournament.

World No. 2 Yamaguchi downed third-ranked Wang 21-14, 22-20 to claim her fourth title of a women’s badminton season dominated by An.

The South Korean has won an incredible 11 titles, including the world and Asian Games crowns, and has lost only one match all year.

Of the titles An did not win in 2026, she finished runner-up at the All England Open and pulled out injured from the Japan Open.

Yamaguchi was happy to give the fans in western Japan something to cheer about.

“There aren’t so many tournaments held in Japan, especially in Kumamoto, which is my training base,” said the 29-year-old.

“I was able to win in front of my supporters and that gave me a different happiness to the other stops on the tour.”

Yamaguchi has lost the last 11 matches she has played against An.

The pair could meet again at the season-ending World Tour Finals in China in December.

“I’m a little bit tired at the moment so I think getting into good condition will be the most important thing,” said Yamaguchi.

India’s Lakshya Sen won the men’s singles title, beating Japan’s Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14.

It was world No. 13 Sen’s second straight title, following his success at the Hylo Open in Germany.

He said he would “love to continue this form”.

“It was really good that I still kept believing in myself and just kept on playing and fighting,” he said.

Top seeds Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin won the mixed doubles final, beating fellow Chinese pair Gao Jiaxuan and Wu Mengying 15-21, 21-15, 21-14.

Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King beat Japanese pair Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi to win the men’s doubles title.

In women’s doubles, Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi beat fellow Japanese pair Ririna Hiramoto and Chiharu Shida 21-19, 21-15. AFP