Lakshya Sen Beats Chi Yu Jen at Kumamoto Masters Japan

Lakshya Sen advanced to the men’s singles second round of the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 on Wednesday, overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in a closely contested opening match.

The eighth-seeded Indian arrived in Japan after winning the Hylo Open in Germany and continued that momentum with a composed finish in both games. The result also gave Sen another victory in an emerging competitive sequence with Chi, after the Indian had lost to him at the Malaysia Open last year before returning the favour at the Australia Open in the same year.

Sen, ranked world No. 13, had to work hard against the 24th-ranked Chi, who repeatedly recovered ground and held leads in each game. The Indian eventually found enough control around the net and enough precision with his cross-court smashes to secure his place in the next round.

Sen recovers from early deficits in both games

The opening game began with Chi moving ahead 7-4. The Chinese Taipei player carried a narrow 11-10 advantage into the interval and then extended his lead to 15-11 after play resumed.

Sen responded steadily rather than allowing the deficit to widen. A cross-court smash helped him reduce the gap to 14-16, and his net play began to create opportunities for attacking finishes. He drew level at 16-16 with a down-the-line smash, but Chi regained a two-point cushion after Sen’s defensive block found the net following a precise smash.

The Indian again fought back to make it 18-18, although he then lost a parallel exchange. The closing points swung in Sen’s favour when Chi made an error on a net dribble. Sen followed with another cross-court smash to earn game point and took the opener by winning the next rally, 21-19.

The second game followed a similarly tight pattern. Neither player was able to establish lasting separation in the early stages, with the score level at 8-8. Sen then raised his level to take a three-point lead into the break.

Chi responded after the interval and erased the deficit to level at 13-13. Sen moved ahead 15-13 with another cross-court smash, but Chi remained in contention, making it 15-15 before taking a 17-16 lead with a smash.

That proved to be Chi’s final lead of the match. Sen reacted quickly to regain command at 19-17. He then left a shuttle that landed out to earn two match points, before Chi put his return of serve into the net to complete Sen’s 21-18 second-game victory.

Mixed results for India in Kumamoto

While Sen progressed in men’s singles, India’s doubles entries suffered defeats on the same day. Dhruv Rawat and K. Maneesha lost 21-16, 14-21, 14-21 to the fourth-seeded Chinese Taipei pairing of Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan.

Hariharan Amsakarunan and Tanisha Crasto also exited, going down 7-21, 9-21 against the top-seeded Chinese pair Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.

Sen’s win keeps an Indian men’s singles contender moving at the Super 500 event and underlines his ability to handle pressure points after a difficult draw against a familiar opponent. Having trailed at important moments in both games, he produced the required responses late in the match to complete a straight-games victory and reach the second round.