Sports/Alive News: Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen has entered the semifinals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament after defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka on Friday. However, experienced Indian player Kidambi Srikanth was eliminated after losing his quarterfinal match.
World No. 13 Lakshya defeated Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in a 40-minute match. The eighth-seeded Indian played with confidence and controlled the rallies to secure a straight-games victory.
Lakshya, who recently won the Hylo Open, is currently 12th in the BWF World Tour rankings with 64,980 points. He needs to reach the top eight to qualify for the season-ending tournament in China.
In the semifinals, Lakshya will face Indonesia’s sixth seed Alwi Farhan, who is ranked World No. 10. The Indian has lost both his previous meetings against Farhan and will aim to improve his record.
Srikanth Loses Despite Strong Start
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth suffered a 22-24, 15-21 defeat against Japan’s Koki Watanabe.
The World No. 31 Indian started well but failed to maintain his advantage. After losing a closely contested first game, Srikanth took a 12-5 lead in the second game.
However, a series of unforced errors allowed Watanabe to make a comeback. The Japanese shuttler won 16 of the final 19 points to seal the match and secure his place in the semifinals.
Srikanth had earlier defeated Japan’s World No. 8 Kodai Naraoka in the previous round.
Lakshya Sen will now be India’s only remaining representative in the men’s singles competition and will look to secure a place in the tournament final.
