Indian Badminton Players Shine at Kumamoto Masters 2026

Indian Shuttlers Excel in Japan

Indian badminton players Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth have successfully moved into the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Masters 2026 tournament in Japan. On Wednesday, Lakshya defeated Chi Yu Jen from Chinese Taipei with scores of 21-19 and 21-18, completing the match in 49 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium. Meanwhile, Kidambi, a former world champion, made a remarkable comeback against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke, winning 18-21, 21-16, 24-22 in a match that lasted one hour and eight minutes.

Path to BWF Finals

Following his victory at the Hylo Open earlier this month, Lakshya has risen eight positions to secure the 10th place in the race for the BWF World Tour Finals. The Commonwealth Games champion aims to break into the top eight, which is crucial for qualifying for the finals scheduled from December 9 to 13 in China. Last year, Lakshya reached the semifinals of this event but was defeated by Kenta Nishimoto in a three-game match. He also finished as the runner-up in the All England Open this year.

Updates on Doubles Matches

In the mixed doubles category, the duo of Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K faced elimination against the fourth-seeded pair of Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan from Chinese Taipei, losing with scores of 16-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 48 minutes. Another pair, Olympians Tanisha Crasto and Hariharan Amsakarunan, were defeated by China's top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, with a score of 21-7, 21-9.

Upcoming Matches

On Thursday, the World Championships bronze medalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will compete against the third-seeded Japanese pair of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the women's doubles round of 16. In men's doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will face Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi for a chance to advance to the quarter-finals.