Lakshya Sen beat Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 after trailing 12-16 in the first game to reach the Kumamoto Masters pre-quarter-finals, and Kidambi Srikanth edged Rasmus Gemke in three games, while both Indian mixed doubles pairs lost in the first round.
Kumamoto, Japan: Lakshya Sen came back to competition after winning the HYLO Open, and the first game of his Kumamoto Masters opener showed how much he had to dig for it. The eighth seed trailed by four points and still left the court in 49 minutes, with Kidambi Srikanth joining him in the last 16 of the Super 500 event.
Lakshya fights back from 12-16
Sen, world No. 13 and the eighth seed, faced Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen, ranked 24th, and spent much of the opening game in a close contest, with the score level at 10-10 at one stage. Chi then pulled ahead to 16-12. Sen answered with court coverage and defensive retrieving that stretched the rallies, clawed back the deficit and took the game 21-19.
The second game ran closer to script. Sen led 6-4 early and stayed patient as Chi pressed with aggressive shot-making, then closed it out 21-18. The win put him 2-1 up in their head-to-head; Chi had beaten him at the 2025 Malaysia Open, and Sen had won their Australia Open meeting the same year. It was Sen’s first match since he beat Jonatan Christie 21-17, 21-10 to win the HYLO Open in Germany. He next faces China’s Dong Tianyao in the pre-quarter-finals on Thursday.
Srikanth survives a decider
Kidambi Srikanth had a tougher route to the same round. He beat Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in three games, the decider going to 24-22 before Srikanth held his nerve.
Mixed doubles pairs exit
The Indian mixed doubles challenge ended in the first round. Dhruv Rawat and K. Maneesha won the opening game 21-16 against fourth seeds Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Chinese Taipei, but lost the next two 14-21 and 14-21. Hariharan Amsakarunan and Tanisha Crasto were far more comprehensively beaten, 7-21, 9-21, by top seeds Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin of China.
Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 (Super 500), 11 November
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen (India, 8) bt Chi Yu Jen (Chinese Taipei) 21-19, 21-18. Kidambi Srikanth (India) bt Rasmus Gemke (Denmark) in three games, 24-22 in the decider.
Mixed doubles: Ye Hong Wei/Nicole Gonzales Chan (Chinese Taipei, 4) bt Dhruv Rawat/K. Maneesha (India) 16-21, 21-14, 21-14. Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin (China, 1) bt Hariharan Amsakarunan/Tanisha Crasto (India) 21-7, 21-9.
Next: Lakshya Sen v Dong Tianyao (China), pre-quarter-finals, Thursday.
