PV Sindhu enters Japan Open final
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu entered her first final in more than two years after Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei of China retired midway through their women’s singles semifinal at the Japan Open here on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Indian was leading 21-19, 15-10 when world No. 4 Chen was forced to pull out with a hamstring injury.
It will be Sindhu’s first final since winning the Syed Modi International in Lucknow in 2024. She had also finished runner-up at the Malaysia Open Super 500 earlier that year. Her last major title came at the Singapore Open Super 500 in 2022. “I’m very happy that I’ve gone to the final,” Sindhu said after the match.
“For me, every match mattered a lot from the first match, especially today’s match. It was important from the beginning to be focused because when you play with the top-ranked players, it’s important that every point matters, so winning that first game really mattered a lot.”
In Sunday’s summit clash, Sindhu will take on Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi enjoys a 14-10 head-to-head advantage over Sindhu, having won 14 of their 24 meetings. While the two former world champions have shared one of women’s badminton’s most compelling rivalries, the Japanese star has dominated the recent contests, winning five of their last six clashes.
World No. 12 Sindhu had entered the contest trailing 6-8 in her head-to-head record against the fourth-seeded Chen, who had won each of their previous four meetings, including a straight-games victory at this year’s Indonesia Masters.
