Lakshya Sen reaches Kumamoto Masters final to boost World Tour Finals bid
The eighth-seeded Indian defeated Indonesia's Alwi Farhan in the semifinals to move closer to the season-ending tournament in China.
Lakshya Sen secured a place in his second consecutive men's singles final at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament on Saturday. The world No. 13 Indian defeated sixth-seeded Alwi Farhan of Indonesia in a three-game match to advance, according to the Times of India.
Sen won the semifinal against Farhan with scores of 21-12, 15-21, and 21-11. The 25-year-old, who recently won the Hylo Open in Germany, will face either Japan's Koki Watanabe or Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final on Sunday.
The victory strengthens Sen's attempt to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China. He is currently 12th in the BWF World Tour rankings with 64,980 points and must reach the top eight to secure a spot in the season-ending event.
In the quarterfinals, Sen defeated Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15. However, veteran shuttler Kidambi Srikanth exited the tournament after losing to Japan's Koki Watanabe 22-24, 15-21 in the second game.
The BWF World Tour Finals are scheduled to be held from December 9 to 13.