Lakshya Sen began his Japan Masters 2025 campaign in style, defeating Japan’s Koki Watanabe 21-12, 21-16 to enter the second round of the BWF World Tour Super 500 in Kumamoto City.
The seventh seed and world No. 15 dominated the 39-minute match with sharp control and net play. He will next face either Jia Heng Jason Teh or Victor Lai for a quarterfinal spot. However, Kiran George lost to Malaysia’s Jing Hong Kok, and Ayush Shetty fell to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.
With Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy withdrawing, India’s only mixed doubles hope remains Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde.