On Saturday, November 15, Lakshya Sen lost his semifinals encounter against Kenta Nishimoto at the Japan Masters. With this, India’s campaign at the Super 500 has come to a close.
Sen went into the match a strong contender for the win. The 24-year-old got the battle off to a promising start, putting distance between him and Nishimoto early in the game and moving ahead 8-4. However, cheered on by the home crowd, the Japanese was quick to claw his way back into the game at 10 all.
While Lakshya Sen and Nishimoto then went toe-to-toe with each other for the next handful of points, the latter moved ahead when it mattered the most, clinching a 21-19 win in the first game.
Building on this momentum, Nishimoto got the second game off to a dominant start, taking a quick 7-3 lead in the beginning. However, at this point, Sen staged a superb resurgence, relying on his indefatigable defense to clinch four straight points and eat away at his opponent’s lead, before going into the mid-game interval with the scoreline reading 11-8 in his favour. Sen kept this pace going effortlessly through the second half, winning the game 21-14 to force a decider.
The final game got off to a taxing start for both players. With the clock having ticked close to the hour mark, both players were under pressure to perform their best. As the decider began, Kenta Nishimoto shrugged off his disappointing loss and quickly took charge of rallies, slowly inching out of Lakshya Sen’s reach. The Japanese shuttler eventually sealed the deal 21-12.
Lakshya Sen to return to action at Australian Open
After his disappointing exit at the Japan Masters, Lakshya Sen will restart his hunt for his first title of 2025 at the Australian Open. The Super 500 is scheduled to take place in Sydney between November 18 and 23, and Sen will be joined in the men’s singles event by the likes of HS Prannoy, Ayush Shetty, and Kiran George.
Other Indians in action at the event include the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as well as women’s singles players Aakarshi Kashyap.
Edited by Riddhi Acharya