Lakshya Sen to meet Koki Watanabe in Japan Masters 2026 final in Kumamoto

Lakshya Sen will face Koki Watanabe in the men’s singles final of the Japan Masters 2026 at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium in Kumamoto on Sunday, 15 November 2026. Sen arrives having won the HYLO Open last week, while Watanabe holds the final automatic qualification spot for the BWF World Tour Finals and sits eighth in the rankings.

Sen is aiming to become the first Indian to lift a Japan Masters title and is also chasing a place in the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. He reached the final by defeating Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in the semi-finals. Sen is contesting his third final of the ongoing season after claiming the HYLO Open title and finishing runner-up at the All England.

Watanabe has been in strong form at the Super 500 event, conceding just one game through the tournament. He advanced to the final by overcoming World No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals and this is his second final of the season. Earlier in the year Watanabe finished runner-up at the Super 750 Japan Open.

The pair have met seven times on the world tour, with Sen leading 4-3 in their head-to-head. Watanabe has prevailed in their last two meetings, which occurred earlier this season at the Singapore Open and the Japan Open. Sen’s four earlier wins in the rivalry were all achieved in straight sets.

This will be the duo’s second encounter at the Japan Masters after a quarter-final meeting last year, which Sen won in straight sets to move into the semi-finals. Prior to 2026, Sen’s best result at this event was a semi-final in 2025, while Watanabe’s best showing before 2026 was a quarter-final finish in 2023.

A victory in Kumamoto would not only deliver a tournament title but also help Sen remain in contention for qualification to the BWF World Tour Finals and provide an opportunity to improve his rankings. The men’s singles title match has a tentative start time of 11:50 am local time (8:20 am IST) at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

Khel Now ran a live blog of the final; for further updates the original coverage directs readers to Khel Now’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and to download the Khel Now Android or iOS app or join its WhatsApp and Telegram communities.