India’s Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run of form, cruising past China’s Dong Tian Yao 21-8, 21-14 to book his place in the quarterfinals of the Japan Masters 2026 on Thursday.
Fresh from winning the Hylo Open in Germany, Lakshya carried his momentum into Japan, having earlier defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
Against Tian Yao, Lakshya was in complete control from the outset, racing to eight consecutive points before wrapping up the opening game 21-8 in just 13 minutes.
The Chinese shuttler attempted to stage a fightback in the second game, keeping the contest competitive at 4-6. However, Lakshya quickly regained control, stringing together six successive points to extend his lead to 12-6.
Ranked 32 places above his opponent, the Indian shuttler maintained his dominance to close out the match in straight games and seal his quarterfinal berth.
With back-to-back victories in Japan following his title-winning campaign in Germany, Lakshya will now look to carry his red-hot form into the last eight.
