Indian women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand opened their campaign at the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2026 with a straight-games victory over Japan’s Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita on Tuesday.
The Indian duo, ranked below their opponents, produced a composed performance to win 21-17, 21-14 in 42 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium and book their place in the round of 16.
Suzuki and Yamakita, ranked 13th in the world, had won the Canada Open earlier this year and finished runners-up at the Denmark Open Super 750 last month. It was the first meeting between the two pairs.
Treesa and Gayatri will next face third seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan. The Indians and the Japanese pair have split their previous two meetings, with Treesa and Gayatri winning their latest encounter 21-16, 21-12 in the round of 16 at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi earlier this year.
India also progressed in the men’s doubles, with Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun advancing to the pre-quarterfinals after Malaysian third seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik retired with the Indians leading 11-6 in the opening game.
However, Dhruv Kapila and Radhika Sharma bowed out of the mixed doubles qualifiers after losing 21-16, 21-15 to the United States’ Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett.
Lakshya Sen is scheduled to begin his campaign on Wednesday. The Indian shuttler enters the tournament after winning the Hylo Open and has moved up to 10th in the race for qualification for the BWF World Tour Finals. A strong run in Japan could help him break into the top eight, which secures qualification for the season-ending event.
Sen reached the semifinals at the Kumamoto Masters last year and also finished runner-up at the All England Open earlier this season.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, meanwhile, have withdrawn from the tournament despite initially being listed in the draw. Malvika Bansod has also pulled out.
The Satwik-Chirag combination has enjoyed a strong season, winning the Singapore Open and China Masters, both Super 750 events, while also finishing runners-up at the Thailand Open. They currently occupy 12th place in the men’s doubles race for the BWF World Tour Finals.
PV Sindhu, meanwhile, has secured her place at the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals after a productive run on the circuit. The two-time Olympic medallist recently won the Hylo Open, defeating Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 21-14 in the final.
The title followed Sindhu’s runner-up finish at the French Open and her earlier Japan Open triumph. She also reached the semifinals of the Malaysia Open and Australian Open this season.
Sindhu has climbed to sixth in the world rankings following her recent performances, her highest position since December 2022. She previously won the BWF World Tour Finals title in 2018.
