Lakshya Sen does not do easy wins at the moment. On Sunday, the 25-year-old from Almora fought back from a game down to beat home favourite Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 and lift the Kumamoto Masters Japan title, becoming the first Indian ever to win the tournament.
The final at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium lasted one hour and four minutes, and for long stretches it looked like the noisy home crowd might carry Watanabe over the line. Instead, Sen produced his second comeback in as many weeks, and his second straight BWF Super 500 crown after the Hylo Open title earlier this month.
It is the first time in his career that Sen has won two BWF World Tour titles in a single season. The win also moved him into a qualifying position for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, with one qualifying event still to go.
A slow start, then the switch flips
Watanabe, the world No. 15, fed off the home support in the opener. He attacked early, kept Sen pinned to the back court and took the first game 21-13 without ever really letting the Indian settle.
The second game was tighter, and it was here that the match began to turn. Sen started varying the pace, using the cross-court lift to open up the forehand side and forcing Watanabe into longer rallies. He edged it 21-18, and suddenly the momentum, and the noise in the arena, belonged to the Indian.
The decider was Sen at his sharpest. He raced to an 11-7 lead at the interval, and the point that summed up the match came at that scoreline: stretched wide to his backhand corner, back to the net, he scooped the shuttle inches off the floor and sent it swerving inside the line. Watanabe sank to his knees. From there, Sen never let the grip loosen, closing out the game 21-14.
History in Kumamoto
The Kumamoto Masters has been on the BWF calendar only since 2023, but no Indian had won the men’s singles title before Sunday. Sen reached the semi-finals here last year and went one step further this time, and he did it the hard way.
He came into the final trailing in recent meetings with Watanabe. The head-to-head stood at 3-2 in Sen’s favour, but the Japanese player had won their last two encounters. In the semi-final, Sen had already beaten world No. 10 Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in three games.
The eighth seed’s run in Japan underlines how consistent his autumn has been. The Hylo Open title in Germany earlier this month was his first Super 500 crown of the year. Kumamoto is his second, and his fifth Super 500 title overall.
What the win means for the Finals race
The title earned Sen 9,200 ranking points, which will lift him to sixth place in the Race to the Finals standings with 74,180 points when the list is updated on Tuesday. That puts him inside the cut for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, the season-ending event for the year’s eight best players in each discipline.
One qualifying event remains: the Hong Kong Open, which starts on November 17. Sen will head there knowing a good run would seal his place in Hangzhou, while a poor week could still leave him vulnerable to the players chasing him.
For Indian badminton, the timing could hardly be better. Sen’s win capped what has been India’s most successful season on the BWF World Tour, with a record nine titles and four runner-up finishes across the year.
A season that keeps building
World No. 13 Sen has spoken in recent weeks about trusting his own game and backing himself in long matches, and Kumamoto was a textbook case. He lost the first game, absorbed the pressure of a partisan crowd, and found a way through in the second and third.
After the match, he credited his self-belief and fighting spirit for the run, and pointed straight to the next job: the Hong Kong Open, and the Finals place that is now within reach.
Indian badminton has waited for a season like this. With two titles in two weeks, Sen is making sure it ends on a high.
FAQs
Who won the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 men’s singles title?
Lakshya Sen of India. He beat Japan’s Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in the final on Sunday, November 15.
Has an Indian won the Kumamoto Masters before?
No. Sen is the first Indian to win the men’s singles title at the Kumamoto Masters, a tournament first held in 2023.
How many titles has Lakshya Sen won this season?
Two BWF World Tour titles: the Hylo Open in Germany and now the Kumamoto Masters in Japan. It is the first season in which he has won two World Tour titles.
What does the win mean for the BWF World Tour Finals?
The title earned Sen 9,200 points and moved him to sixth in the Race to the Finals standings with 74,180 points, putting him in a qualifying position for the season-ending Finals in Hangzhou.
What is next for Lakshya Sen?
The Hong Kong Open, starting November 17, is the last qualifying event for the World Tour Finals.
Sen’s comeback in Kumamoto was a reminder of why he remains India’s brightest men’s singles hope. Two titles in two weeks, a Finals place in sight, and a season that is still getting better.
