Lakshya Sen storms into second straight final, keeps World Tour Finals hopes alive

NEW DELHI: India's Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run of form, storming into his second consecutive men's singles final with a commanding three-game victory over Indonesia's world No. 10 Alwi Farhan at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament on Saturday. The world No. 13 Indian, who recently clinched the Hylo Open title in Germany, overcame the sixth-seeded Farhan 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 in the semifinal to move one step closer to another title. The victory also strengthened his bid to qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China. Eighth seed Lakshya will now face either Japan's Koki Watanabe or second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in Sunday's final as he looks to cap another impressive week with back-to-back tournament titles. The Indian has been in excellent touch in recent weeks, and Saturday's performance underlined his ability to raise his game against higher-ranked opponents. After comfortably taking the opening game, Lakshya was pushed back by Farhan in the second before regaining control in the decider to seal the contest.

Lakshya strengthens World Tour Finals qualification bid

The final appearance could prove crucial for Lakshya's hopes of making the cut for the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals, scheduled to be held in Hangzhou. The 25-year-old is currently 12th in the BWF World Tour rankings with 64,980 points and needs to break into the top eight to secure qualification for the season-ending competition, which features the leading performers of the calendar year.

Having already secured the Hylo Open crown, another strong finish in Japan would further boost his prospects as the qualification race enters its decisive phase. Lakshya had kept India's hopes alive in the tournament on Friday by defeating Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-16, 21-15 in a 40-minute quarterfinal. The Indian displayed good control and attacking intent to overcome the home favourite in straight games.

Srikanth's campaign ends in quarterfinals

While Lakshya continued his impressive run, veteran Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth suffered a disappointing exit in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan's world No. 15 Koki Watanabe. The former world No. 1 squandered a commanding six-point advantage in the second game to go down 22-24, 15-21 in a 49-minute contest. Srikanth had entered the quarterfinals on the back of an impressive victory over world No. 8 and two-time world championships silver medallist Kodai Naraoka on Thursday.