KUMAMOTO: Top Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen registered an upset straight-game win over former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to storm into the semifinals of the USD 475,000 Kumamoto Masters Japan on Friday.
Commonwealth Games champion Sen, seeded seventh, produced a superlative performance to outclass world No. 9 Loh 21-13 21-17 in 40 minutes, extending his dominance over the Singaporean with a seventh win in 10 career meetings.
The world No. 15, who finished runner-up at the Hong Kong Open in September, will next face Japan's sixth seed and world No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto.
Coming in with a 6-3 head-to-head lead, Sen displayed impressive all-round control to dismantle Loh, who has been struggling recently.
The two were tied 4-4 early in the opening game before Sen broke away to take an 11-8 lead at the interval. He then reeled off six straight points after the break to move 18-9 ahead and comfortably sealed the game.
Loh offered stronger resistance in the second game, staying level at 9-9, but Sen once again pulled ahead to 15-9. The Singaporean narrowed the margin to 17-18, but Sen held his nerve to close out the match.