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Vimal Kumar believes Lakshya Sen is back among the world’s best, crediting his reduced unforced errors for a consistent run that has brought him consecutive BWF Tour titles.
Lakshya Sen Stuns Koki Watanabe To Win Back-To-Back BWF Super 500 Titles (Picture credit: BWF)
Former Indian shuttler and coach Vimal Kumar has said that Lakshya Sen is back amongst the best players around the world now, adding that cutting down on unforced errors has helped Lakshya put on a consistent show on the BWF World Tour over the last three weeks.
Lakshya extended his brilliant run on the BWF Tour by clinching a second successive title, edging past home favourite Koki Watanabe in a thrilling final at the Kumamoto Masters Japan on Sunday, November 15.
World No. 13 Lakshya showed his fighting spirit to overcome Watanabe, ranked 15th, 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in a gripping 64-minute final.
“If you ask me, the main thing is cutting down on unforced errors and that has really helped him; I feel he is back amongst the best now. It’s two consecutive titles. It reminds me of the 2021-22 phase, when he was winning tournaments and putting up consistent performances,” Vimal said while speaking to PTI.
“Hopefully, this trend can continue. It’s 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,” Vimal added.
The former Indian shuttler said that Lakshya turned the match around by keeping the shuttle in play and tightening his defence after losing the opening game.
“Today also, I thought the way he played, even though he was a little slow to start, because Koki played at a very good pace. He is really the in-form player. And so, if you look at it, in the first game, he was hitting some unbelievable smashes down the line and Lakshya was slow to react to them,” Vimal said.
“But from the second game onwards, I think he kept the shuttle in play, defended well and the most important aspect in the third game was that Lakshya scored some outstanding smashes on the ankles,” Vimal added.
Lakshya is all set to face Lee Cheuk Yiu in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open next week.
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Ask News18Lakshya Sen secured the Kumamoto Masters Japan title by defeating home favourite Koki Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in a 64-minute final on Sunday, November 15, 2026, becoming the first Indian to win the tournament.
Ask News18November 15, 2026, 23:50 IST
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