Kumamoto Masters: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth reach pre-quarters; two mixed doubles pairs exit

India's two men's singles players made it safely into the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan, a BWF Super 500 tournament, on Wednesday, but the day ended in disappointment for both Indian mixed doubles combinations.

Sen controls, Srikanth survives

Lakshya Sen, seeded eighth, beat Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-18. Both games were close in the early stages, but Sen pulled clear at the business end each time to avoid a decider.

Kidambi Srikanth had a far tougher afternoon against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke. The former world number one dropped the first game 18-21, levelled with a 21-16 win in the second, and then edged a nervy third game 24-22 in a match that lasted a little over an hour.

Next up, Sen faces China's Dong Tianyao in the round of 16, while Srikanth meets fifth seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan.

Seeds too strong in mixed doubles

Dhruv Rawat and K Maneesha won the opening game 21-16 against fourth seeds Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Chinese Taipei, but could not hold on, losing the next two 14-21, 14-21. Hariharan Amsakarunan and Tanisha Crasto were outplayed 7-21, 9-21 by China's top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.

India still have doubles interest in the draw. Hariharan and MR Arjun are through to the men's doubles round of 16, where they take on Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi. In women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who won their opener on Tuesday, are scheduled to play Japanese third seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi on Thursday.

Why it matters for Indian fans

The Kumamoto event comes late in the BWF World Tour season, when ranking points carry extra weight for players trying to secure places in the year-end World Tour Finals and protect their seedings for next year. Deep runs here for Sen and Srikanth would help both men build momentum heading into the final weeks of the calendar.

The tournament runs until Sunday, 15 November.