Lakshya Sen becomes first Indian to win Kumamoto Masters title
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Kumamoto: India's Lakshya Sen scripted history at the Kumamoto Masters on Sunday, defeating Japan's Koki Watanabe in a three-game final to become the first Indian shuttler to win the men's singles title at the tournament.
The 24-year-old overcame an opening-game setback to beat the home favourite 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in an hour and four minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Watanabe dominated the opening game, but Sen responded strongly in the second, building a 13-10 advantage before eventually holding off a late challenge to level the contest.
The Indian carried his momentum into the deciding game, gradually establishing control after an early contest and securing an 11-7 lead at the interval before completing the victory.
The triumph marked Sen's second consecutive BWF World Tour Super 500 title following his success at the Hylo Open in Germany earlier this month. It was also the first time in his career that he had secured two World Tour titles in a single season.
The victory marked his sixth BWF World Tour title overall and earned him 9,200 ranking points, strengthening his prospects of qualifying for the 2026 BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.
Sen had earlier reached the final after defeating sixth seed Alwi Farhan in the semifinals.
With IANS inputs