India’s Lakshya Sen will return to action at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 after skipping the Korea Open following his title-winning campaign at the Hylo Open in Germany. The Indian shuttler will headline the country’s challenge at the tournament alongside men’s doubles stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Lakshya heads into the tournament after securing his first title of the season in Saarbrucken, where he defeated Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in straight games in the final. He subsequently withdrew from the Korea Open to take a break before resuming his campaign in Japan.
The tournament will also be important for Lakshya as he looks to secure a top eight finish in the BWF World Tour rankings and qualify for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. However, maintaining his fitness will be a key factor after physical issues affected his performances over the past few months.
In the previous edition of the Kumamoto Masters, Lakshya reached the semifinals after defeating former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the quarterfinals. He eventually lost to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 19-21, 21-14, 12-21 in a 77-minute contest.
Ayush Shetty, PV Sindhu to miss Kumamoto Masters
India will be without Ayush Shetty, who is undergoing rehabilitation after retiring hurt during his Round of 16 match against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka at the French Open in Paris. He had also missed the Hylo Open.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will also be absent from the tournament. Sindhu recently won the Hylo Open for her second title of the season and secured qualification for the BWF World Tour Finals.
Satwik-Chirag lead India’s doubles challenge
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will spearhead India’s men’s doubles campaign at the Super 500 event. The fifth seeds will be looking to regain their winning form after struggling in recent tournaments.
Since winning the China Masters Super 750 title in September, the Indian pair have failed to progress beyond the Round of 32 in three consecutive tournaments. Their recent run also included a first-round exit at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where they were the defending champions.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will lead India’s challenge, while MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan will compete in men’s doubles.
India will also field three mixed doubles combinations, taking its representation across seven events at the tournament.
Kumamoto Masters 2026: Dates, venue and prize money
The Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 will be held from November 10 to 15 at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Japan. The tournament has a total prize purse of USD 500,000.
Indian contingent for Kumamoto Masters:
– Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen (8), Kidambi Srikanth
– Women’s singles: Malvika Bansod
– Men’s doubles: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (5), MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan
– Women’s doubles: Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand
– Mixed doubles: Hariharan Amsakarunan-Tanisha Crasto, Dhruv Rawat-Maneesha K, Dhruv Kapila-Radhika Sharma
