India's Lakshya Sen, the world No. 13, produced a comeback to beat home favourite Koki Watanabe in the men's singles final of the Japan Masters in Kumamoto on Sunday. Sen lost the opening game 13-21 but won the next two 21-18 and 21-14 to take the title in one hour and four minutes.

Sen levelled the match by winning the second game with cross-court smashes, and then pulled away in the decider after taking an 11-7 lead. Watanabe, visibly tired, struggled to judge the length and width of a court with considerable sideways drift and committed heavy errors, while Sen's strong defence kept him in control.S2

The win follows Sen's Hylo Open title in Germany earlier this month, making him back-to-back tournament winner and a sign of recovery after a poor showing at the World Championships and Asian Games. The Japan Masters title also strengthens his bid to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals in Hangzhou.S2

Sen reached the final with a 21-12, 15-21, 21-11 semi-final win over Indonesia's Alwi Farhan, the world No. 10, on Saturday. It was the first time he had taken a game off Farhan after losing both previous meetings, a result he achieved by relying on patient rally construction against Farhan's high-tempo attacking style.S2

Sen entered the Japan Masters ranked 12th in the World Tour standings with 64,980 points, while only the top eight qualify for the season-ending finals. The Super 500 title earned him 9,200 ranking points, a significant boost to his position.S2