Srikanth rolls back the years in stirring fight, Lakshya marches on at Kumamoto Masters

Former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen won closely fought opening-round contests to reach the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals at the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 badminton tournament on Wednesday.

Srikanth produced a stunning comeback to shut out Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in three games and eighth-seeded Lakshya Sen defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 in 49 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

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Lakshya, who is looking to break into the top eight and qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals, was placed 10th ahead of the Super 500 event.

The opening game was closely contested before Chi Yu Jen opened up a four-point advantage at 14-10 and extended his lead to 16-12. Lakshya mounted a strong comeback, winning four consecutive points to level the scores at 16-all.

Lakshya Sen will next face the People’s Republic of China’s Dong Tian Yao in the round of 16. Pics: BAI / X

The two players remained locked at 19-all before the Indian won the next two points to take the opening game. The second game was another tight affair. Chi Yu Jen led 17-16 late in the contest before Lakshya raised his intensity and won three consecutive points to move 19-17 ahead.

The Indian held his nerve from there to seal the contest in straight games. Lakshya will next face the People’s Republic of China’s Dong Tian Yao in the round of 16.

Stirring comeback from Srikanth

Srikanth, meanwhile, produced a stirring comeback to beat Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in three games. The Indian prevailed 18-21, 21-16, 24-22 in one hour and eight minutes.

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Srikanth made a strong start to the opening game and led by five points at the interval. Gemke, however, fought back to level the scores at 14-all and again at 17-all before winning four of the next five points to take the game.

The second game was also closely fought, with Gemke holding a 14-11 advantage. Srikanth responded emphatically, reeling off seven consecutive points to surge 18-14 ahead before forcing a decider.

Kidambi Srikanth will face the winner of the first-round match between Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul and fifth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the round of 16

The deciding game saw the two players exchange leads several times before Srikanth found himself staring at defeat at 19-15 down.

The 33-year-old Indian rolled back the years, mounting another comeback and saving two match points to draw level at 20-all.

The contest remained locked through 22-all before Srikanth won the next two points to complete the comeback. Srikanth will face the winner of the first-round match between Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul and fifth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the round of 16.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K put up a fight against fourth seeds Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Chinese Taipei before losing 16-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 48 minutes.

Olympian Tanisha Crasto and Hariharan Amsakarunan, meanwhile, went down 21-7, 21-9 to top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China.

On Thursday, World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face third seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan in the women’s doubles round of 16.

In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun will take on Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi for a place in the quarterfinals.