KUMAMOTO: Lakshya Sen made history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian men's singles player to win the Kumamoto Masters Japan, defeating home favourite Koki Watanabe in the final.
The eighth-seeded Indian recovered from losing the opening game to register a 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 victory in a 64-minute contest. The triumph marked his second consecutive title on the BWF World Tour.
Sen's latest win follows his title at the Hylo Open in Germany earlier this month, where he defeated Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the men's singles final.
He had reached the semifinals at the Kumamoto tournament last year. This year's victory marked a significant improvement on that performance.
The Japan Masters title earned Sen 9,200 ranking points, taking his tally in the BWF World Tour Finals race from 64,980 to a projected 74,180. This is expected to move him from 12th to sixth place when the standings are updated.
The top eight players in the race qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China. The Hong Kong Open, scheduled from November 17 to 22, will be the final qualifying event.
(With inputs from media reports)