Lakshya Sen scripts history, wins Japan Masters title after defeating Koki Watanabe in 3-set thriller
PTC News Desk: Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen made history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian player to win the men's singles title at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 tournament.
The world No. 13 defeated Japan's Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in a thrilling three-game final. Lakshya lost the first game but made a strong comeback to win the next two and secure the title.
The victory comes after his recent triumph at the Hylo Open and marks his second consecutive tournament final appearance.
Lakshya moves closer to BWF finals
The Japan Masters title has also given Lakshya an important boost in the race to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals.
Before the tournament, he was 12th in the Race to Finals rankings with 64,980 points. He needed to finish among the top eight to qualify for the season-ending tournament.
His Japan Masters victory earned him 9,200 ranking points, taking his expected total to 74,180 and moving him up to sixth place when the rankings are updated on Tuesday.
However, he still needs to perform well at the Hong Kong Open, scheduled from November 17 to 22, which is the final qualifying tournament.
Speaking after his victory, Lakshya said qualifying for the World Tour Finals remained one of his main goals. He added that he would now focus on the Hong Kong Open.
Lakshya dominates the deciding game
Lakshya entered the final with a 3-2 head-to-head record against Watanabe, although the Japanese player had won their previous two meetings.
The deciding game saw both players produce some exciting rallies. Lakshya took control after the score was level at 3-3 and moved ahead 9-6 with a series of attacking shots.
He went into the interval with a four-point lead and extended the advantage to 13-7 with two powerful smashes.
Lakshya continued his aggressive game, increasing the lead to 17-7 with another series of strong attacking shots.
Watanabe tried to fight back and reduced the gap to 13-19, but Lakshya remained calm. He earned seven match points with two accurate returns and sealed the title on his second opportunity with a cross-court winner.
With this victory, Lakshya has added another major achievement to his badminton career and strengthened his chances of qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals.
- PTC NEWS
