Kumamoto Masters Japan badminton: Lakshya Sen enters semifinals, Srikanth bows out

Kumamoto Lakshya Sen kept India's flag flying at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament by reaching the semifinals, while veteran shuttler Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after a loss in Kumamoto on Friday (November 13, 2026). World No. 13 Lakshya, who needs to break into the top eight of the BWF World Tour rankings to qualify for the season-ending tournament in China, outwitted Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in a 40-minute quarterfinal. Eighth seed Lakshya, who recently won the Hylo Open, is currently 12th in the BWF World Tour rankings with 64,980 points.

He will face sixth seed Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in the semifinals. The Indian has lost both his previous meetings with the world No. 10. World No.

31 Srikanth, however, once again struggled for consistency as he looked in control for much of the match but suffered an inexplicable meltdown in the second game to lose 22-24, 15-21 to Japan's world No. 15 Koki Watanabe. The Indian had stunned world No. 8 and two-time world championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka of Japan on Thursday.