Kumamoto Masters badminton: Lakshya, Kidambi march into pre-quarters

Kumamoto [Japan], November 12 (ANI): Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth superior to the pre-quarterfinals of the continued Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 badminton event. 

On Wednesday, Lakshya outclassed Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in 49 minutes on the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, as per Olympics.com, whereas Kidambi, a former world primary, beat Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke by sparking an unbelievable comeback, 18-21, 21-16, 24-22 in a single hour and eight minutes.

Lakshya climbed eight locations to succeed in the tenth spot within the race to the finals after securing the Hylo Open title earlier this month. The Commonwealth Games champion might be eyeing entering into the highest eight, getting into the cut-off zone for the BWF World Tour Finals. The BWF Finals characteristic the highest eight gamers/pairs throughout all disciplines and can happen this yr from December 9 to 13 in China. Last yr at this occasion, Lakshya made it to the semifinals, dropping to residence favorite Kenta Nishimoto in three video games. He additionally achieved a runners-up end within the All England Open this yr. 

In blended doubles, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha Okay had been ousted by fourth seeds Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Chinese Taipei, dropping 16-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 48 minutes.

The different pair, Olympian Tanisha Crasto and Hariharan Amsakarunan, misplaced to China’s high seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China 21-7, 21-9. 

On Thursday, World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will lock horns with third seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan within the girls’s doubles spherical of 16.

In males’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will tackle Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi for a spot within the quarter-finals. (ANI)