PV Sindhu Creates History, Reaches First-Ever Japan Open Super 750 Final

Tokyo, July 18: Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu secured a place in the women’s singles final of the Japan Open 2026, becoming the first Indian player to reach the title clash of the prestigious BWF Super 750 tournament.

Sindhu booked her spot in the final after China‘s Chen Yufei was forced to retire with a hamstring injury during their semi-final encounter at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Before the match ended, the Indian star had already taken the opening game 21-19 and was comfortably ahead 15-10 in the second game, displaying confident and attacking badminton.

The victory sets up a highly anticipated final against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, currently ranked World No. 3. Yamaguchi earned her place in the championship match after overcoming Indonesia‘s Putri Kusuma Wardani in the other semi-final.

The final will be Sindhu’s first appearance in a BWF World Tour title match since lifting the Syed Modi International Super 300 crown in late 2024. It also marks her maiden final at a Super 750 event, highlighting her return to top form on the international circuit.

The semi-final was a closely contested battle in the opening game. Sindhu established an early advantage before Chen fought back to level the scores. However, the Indian Olympic medallist remained composed under pressure to edge the first game. She carried that momentum into the second game, where she built a healthy lead before Chen was unable to continue because of injury.

The result also ended a difficult run against the former Olympic champion, who had defeated Sindhu in their previous four meetings. Their last encounter won by Sindhu came during the 2019 BWF World Championships, where she went on to claim the historic world title.

With Sindhu now the lone Indian left in the competition, hopes of a title rest solely on her shoulders after other Indian contenders, including Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, and Tanisha Crasto, exited the tournament in earlier rounds.