Kumamoto [Japan], November 15 (ANI): Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen confronted a defeat within the males’s singles semifinal of the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2025 on Saturday, as per Olympics.com. He went right down to the native favorite and the world quantity 13 Kenta Nishimoto after a gruelling three-game match, ending India’s marketing campaign on the match.
World quantity 15 Lakshya Sen, who’s seeded seventh, misplaced to sixth seed Nishimoto 21-19, 14-21, 21-12 in a contest that lasted one hour and 17 minutes on the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium. This marked Sen’s third defeat in opposition to Nishimoto in six head-to-head encounters.
In the primary sport, Sen began strongly as he raced to an 8-4 lead earlier than Nishimoto fought again to degree at 9-all. The contest remained tight, with the rating tied at 18-all earlier than Nishimoto clinched the ultimate factors to take the opening sport.
The second sport noticed Nishimoto open a 7-3 lead, however Sen staged a comeback, successful eight of the following 9 factors to guide 11-8 on the interval. Post-interval, Sen held onto his lead and managed to push the match right into a decider.
However, the deciding sport turned in Nishimoto’s favour, as he held a four-point lead on the break and regularly prolonged it to seal the match.
The 2021 World Championship bronze medallist Sen’s run to the semifinals included a notable victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore within the quarterfinals. This was Sen’s third semifinal look of the 2025 BWF World Tour season, following the Hong Kong Open ultimate in September and the Macau Open semifinal in August.
Despite a combined season with 11 first-round exits in 19 tournaments, Sen recorded spectacular wins, together with a conquer world No. 2 Anders Antonsen on the Denmark Open.
Notably, Sen was the one Indian to achieve the semifinals on the Kumamoto Masters, with HS Prannoy exiting within the spherical of 16. (ANI)