Lakshya Sen registered a brilliant victory over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore on Friday, storming into the semifinals of the Japan Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event in Kumamoto City. Keeping all eyes on the Indian shuttler's resurgence in the second half of the 2025 season.
The Commonwealth Games champion, seeded seventh, produced a superlative performance to outclass the World No. 9 Loh in straight games, winning 21-13, 21-17 in 39 minutes. The result reinforced his dominance in this rivalry, extending his career head-to-head advantage over the Singaporean to a comfortable seventh win in 10 meetings.
The opening game was almost flawless from the Indian. After an early 4-4 tie, Sen reeled off six straight points after the interval, moving to an 18-9 lead before comfortably closing out the game 21-13. The second game was more fiercely contested. Although Loh showed better resistance and was level with Sen at 9-9, the Indian once again pulled ahead to 15-9. The Singaporean, however, mounted a spirited fight, narrowing the gap to 17-18 after a wild Lakshya smash and some fine rallies.
The decisive moment came in a marathon 42-shot rally late in the second game, with Loh having the chance to level the scores at 18-18. Loh double-guessed a line judgment on a deep shot and eventually netted the shuttle, letting out a roar of frustration.
Lakshya took the lifeline, secured the next point to go up 20-17, and closed the match out with a powerful jump smash. This straight-games victory marks Sen's third semifinal of the year and his second at a Super 500 level tournament, giving him a boost in the World Tour Finals race.
Lakshya, who finished runner-up at the Hong Kong Open in September, will next face local favorite and Japan’s sixth seed, Kenta Nishimoto, in the semifinals. The head-to-head record slightly favors the Indian, who leads 3-2.
