Lakshya Sen's back-to-back titles have signalled a return to form, with mentor Vimal Kumar crediting fewer unforced errors for his resurgence. The Indian shuttler has also moved closer to qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals.Lakshya continued his resurgence with Japan Masters win (Courtesy: PTI)A sharp reduction in unforced errors and greater composure under pressure has been the trump cards for Lakshya Sen recently as he is showing signs of being back to his very best.
His win in the Japan Masters was a testament to this.The World No. 13 recovered from a game down to seal the match 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in 64 minutes, turning the contest around with a strong response in the second and third games.The Indian took control in the decider after moving ahead 11-7 at the interval.
He continued to widen the gap, eventually building a nine-point advantage and shutting the door on any hopes of a fightback from his opponent.The win follows the Hylo Open triumph in Germany and his mentor Vimal Kumar feels that Lakshya is now back amongst the best in the business, mainly down to the traits that he has shown this year. "If you ask me, the main thing is, cutting down on unforced errors and that has really helped him, I feel he's back amongst the best now. It is two back-to-back titles.
It reminds me of the 2021-22 phase, when he was winning tournaments and putting up consistent performances. Hopefully, this trend can continue," Vimal told PTI."It is tough because they are all of a similar level, and whoever plays well at the crucial stages, makes the minimum number of unforced errors and keeps mistakes down, succeeds.
If you look at it, everybody has speed and punch. So, it is about the errors.
Cutting down on those will make all the difference."EYES ON BWF WORLD TOUR FINALS 2026 wasn't the best for Lakshya as he had a poor campaign at home during the BWF World Championships and then a disappointing outing in Nagoya during the Asian Games.But now he has a chance to atone for all this and secure a spot in the BWF World Tour finals.Lakshya entered the Japan tournament sitting 12th in the Race to Finals rankings with 64,980 points. He needed to break into the top eight to secure a place at the season-ending tournament.His triumph at the Super 500 event has earned him 9,200 points, taking his projected tally to 74,180 and moving him up to sixth when the rankings are updated on Tuesday.However, his qualification is not yet confirmed, with the Hong Kong Open, scheduled from November 17 to 22, serving as the final opportunity for players to earn points and secure their places in Hangzhou."He is really in form now, and I sincerely hope he qualifies.
Next is the Hong Kong Open, and every round is really tough. If he can do well there, he will get about three weeks to prepare himself for the year-end finals," Vimal said.The Japan triumph marked Lakshya's second Super 500 crown this season and his fifth at this level overall, putting him joint-second on the men's singles list.
He also became the first Indian men's singles shuttler since Kidambi Srikanth in 2017 to claim multiple World Tour titles in a single season. Srikanth had enjoyed a particularly successful year, winning four Superseries crowns.- Ends