Lakshya bows out of Japan Masters

Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen’s fine run came to an end after a draining three-game semifinal defeat to Japan's World Number 13 Kenta Nishimoto at the US $475,000 Kumamoto Masters Japan here on Saturday.

Seventh seed Lakshya, who endured a lean patch before rediscovering form with a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open, lost 19-21 21-14 12-21 to sixth seed Nishimoto in a 77-minute battle. The 2021 World Championship bronze medallist came into the match with a 3-2 head-to-head lead, but had lost their previous encounter at the Indonesia Masters earlier this year.

The Commonwealth Games champion recovered from an opening-game setback to force a decider but looked completely out of sorts in the third game. In a clash between two evenly-matched players, it was about staying consistent in the rallies and drawing out errors. Lakshya managed that early on, moving to an 8-3 lead, but Nishimoto seized the momentum by taking seven straight points for a 10-9 advantage. The Japanese player smashed out once but still held a narrow lead as Sen found the net.

Nishimoto’s steep smashes troubled Lakshya as he moved ahead 15-13. The Indian pounced on a loose net shot to make it 14-15 before producing a criss-cross return to level the score. Sen edged ahead 17-16 but briefly let it slip with two shots into the net. A thundering straight smash made it 18-18 before his next attempt missed the line by a whisker. A crisp reverse slice drop gave Nishimoto two game points. He sent one smash wide before Lakshya netted again, handing the opening game to the Japanese.

Changing ends, Lakshya fell 1-5 behind but slowed the rallies and stitched together a run of points to take an 8-7 lead as Nishimoto began to struggle physically. The Indian claimed eight of the last nine points to go into the break with a three-point cushion, finishing the run with a sharp cross-court smash.

Both players looked to outmanoeuvre each other and Lakshya maintained his advantage, reaching 16-13 with a mix of delicate net play, crisp smashes and robust defence. With Nishimoto faltering, Lakshya surged to a 20-14 lead and levelled the match as the Japanese went long.

Back on his preferred side of the court, Nishimoto rediscovered his rhythm with sharp, attacking returns. He moved to 5-2 after Lakshya slipped and sent the shuttle wide during a defensive reflex dive. A terrific body smash pushed Nishimoto to 7-3 even as Lakshya did a full pirouette in an attempt to retrieve it but couldn’t save the point. It was 9-5 with another long return from the Indian.

The Japanese showed great tactical awareness, producing a precise cross-court smash to take a four-point lead at the interval. On resumption, Lakshya tapped into the net as Nishimoto stretched the lead to 14-7 with two more smashes, celebrating each point with a fist pump. Another body smash, followed by a long shot from Lakshya, took Nishimoto to 17-9. Lakshya eventually went wide to hand eight match points to Nishimoto, who sealed his place in the final with another clean smash.