Lakshya Sen Storms Into Kumamoto Masters Semifinals, Kidambi Srikanth Crashes Out

India's Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament, storming into the semifinals with a straight-game victory over Japan's Yushi Tanaka on Friday. However, compatriot Kidambi Srikanth suffered a disappointing quarterfinal exit after surrendering a commanding lead against Koki Watanabe.

World No. 13 Lakshya outplayed Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in just 40 minutes to keep India's hopes alive in the tournament. The eighth-seeded Indian will next face Indonesia's sixth seed Alwi Farhan for a place in the final.

Fresh from his title-winning performance at the Hylo Open, Lakshya has carried his momentum into Japan. The Indian is also chasing a place in the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in China, for which he needs to break into the top eight of the season rankings. He is currently 12th with 64,980 points.

Lakshya controlled the contest against Tanaka with his attacking game, although the Japanese shuttler briefly threatened to make a comeback in both games. The Indian raised his intensity at crucial moments, building decisive leads before wrapping up the match in straight games.

Lakshya, however, faces a tough challenge in the semifinals, having lost both his previous meetings against Farhan, currently ranked World No. 10.

Srikanth's campaign ended in contrasting fashion as the former World No. 1 went down 22-24, 15-21 against Japan's World No. 15 Watanabe.

The 33-year-old Indian looked on course for victory after taking control of the second game with a commanding 12-5 lead. However, a series of unforced errors allowed Watanabe to fight his way back into the contest.

After levelling the scores at 14-14, the Japanese shuttler capitalised on Srikanth's fading accuracy and won 16 of the final 19 points to seal the match.

Srikanth had earlier put up a strong fight in the opening game, saving two game points before Watanabe eventually edged ahead. The Indian had also enjoyed an impressive victory over Japan's World No. 8 Kodai Naraoka in the previous round, making his quarterfinal defeat all the more disappointing.

Despite Srikanth's exit, Lakshya's progress ensures India remain in contention for the men's singles title in Kumamoto.