Kumamoto Masters: Lakshya Sen storms into second straight final, keeps BWF World Tour Finals hopes alive

NEW DELHI: India’s Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run of form to storm into his second consecutive men’s singles final with a three-game win over world number 10 Alwi Farhan at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament here on Saturday.The world number 13 Indian, who recently won the Hylo Open title in Germany, defeated sixth seed Farhan 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 in the semi-finals to move a step closer to another title. The win also boosted his bid to qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China.Eighth seed Lakshya will now face either Japan’s Koki Watanabe or Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Sunday’s final.The Indian has been in excellent touch in recent weeks and Saturday’s performance underlined his ability to raise his game against higher-ranked opponents. After comfortably taking the opener, Lakshya was pushed by Farhan in the second before regaining control of the decider to seal the match.

Lakshya strengthens World Tour Finals qualifying bid

The final form could prove crucial to Lakshya’s hopes of advancing to the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals to be held in Hangzhou.The 25-year-old is currently 12th on the BWF World Tour rankings with 64,980 points and needs to break into the top eight to secure qualification for the season-ending competition, which features the top performers of the calendar year.Having already secured the crown at the Hylo Open, another strong finish in Japan would further boost his prospects as the qualifying race enters its decisive phase.Lakshya kept India’s hopes alive in Friday’s tournament by defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in the 40-minute quarter-final. The Indian showed good control and attacking intent to overcome the home favorite in straight games.

Srikanth’s campaign ends in the quarter-finals

While Lakshya continued his impressive run, veteran Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth suffered a disappointment in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan’s World No.15 Koki Watanabe.The former world No. 1 squandered a commanding six-point lead in the second game and lost 22-24, 15-21 in a 49-minute contest.Srikanth entered the quarter-finals after an impressive win over world number eight and two-time World Championship silver medalist Kodai Naraoka on Thursday.