Guwahati: India’s Lakshya Sen staged an impressive comeback to defeat Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the men’s singles final and clinch the Japan Masters title in Kumamoto on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Indian, ranked world No. 13, recovered from losing the opening game to register a 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 victory in one hour and four minutes.

The triumph marks Sen’s second consecutive title after his victory at the Hylo Open in Germany earlier this month, underlining his return to form following disappointing campaigns at the World Championships and Asian Games.

Sen struggled to find his rhythm in the opening game as Watanabe took control with aggressive shot-making. The Japanese shuttler opened up an early 3-0 lead and repeatedly targeted Sen’s forehand with straight smashes.

Although the Indian managed to reduce the deficit to 10-12, Watanabe maintained his advantage and eventually claimed the game 21-13.

Sen responded strongly in the second game, racing to a 5-0 lead and taking control of the net with sharp returns and quick racket work. Watanabe fought back from 10-19 to narrow the gap to 17-19, but Sen held his nerve to close out the game 21-18 with a precise smash.

The deciding game remained competitive in the early exchanges, with Sen building a 9-6 advantage before heading into the interval with a four-point lead at 11-7.

The Indian then stepped up his attacking game, using a series of powerful smashes to extend his lead to 16-7. Watanabe attempted a late recovery, reducing the margin to 13-19, but Sen remained composed and sealed the match 21-14 with a cross-court winner.

Sen also demonstrated strong defensive skills and mental resilience on a court where sideways drift made shot control challenging.

The Japan Masters victory has strengthened Sen’s prospects of qualifying for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.

Before the Kumamoto tournament, Sen was placed 12th in the Race to Finals standings with 64,980 points. The Super 500 title earned him 9,200 additional points, taking his projected tally to 74,180 and moving him to sixth position in the standings.

Only the top eight players qualify for the season-ending tournament. The Hong Kong Open, scheduled from November 17 to 22, will be the final qualifying event.

Speaking after his victory, Sen said qualifying for the World Tour Finals remained one of his key objectives.

“Definitely that is one thing which we will be fighting for and yes, this tournament will definitely help me to get good points for that as well. Now I have one more tournament, the Hong Kong Open, so now focused on that,” he said.

Reflecting on his performance, Sen said maintaining confidence through difficult matches had played an important role in his recent success.

“Just keeping my confidence up, even though it has been tough matches. I started with a game down in many matches, but yeah, it was really good of me that I still kept believing in myself and just kept on playing and fighting,” he said.

The Indian also expressed satisfaction at improving on his performance in last year’s Kumamoto Masters, where he had reached the semi-finals.

“It feels very good to win a title here and last year, I played the semifinals. I’m happy that I could better the results from last time and yeah, it’s my second title back to back. I would love to continue this form ahead,” he said.

Sen will now shift his focus to the Hong Kong Open, where he will look to maintain his position among the top eight and secure qualification for the BWF World Tour Finals.