New Delhi: Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has booked her place in the semifinals of the Japan Open after Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara withdrew from their quarterfinal match in Tokyo on Friday.
The semifinal berth marks Sindhu’s third appearance in the last four of a tournament this season, following impressive runs at the Malaysia Super 1000 and Australia Super 500. It is also her first Super 750 semifinal since the Denmark Open in 2023, keeping alive her hopes of winning her first title of the year.
The two time Olympic medallist will now face Tokyo Olympic champion and world No. 4 Chen Yufei of China in a high profile semifinal clash. Sindhu trails 6-8 in their overall head to head record and has lost each of their last five meetings. A victory would not only end that streak but also send the Indian ace into her first Super 750 final in nearly three years.
Before benefiting from Okuhara’s withdrawal, Sindhu had produced an outstanding performance in the round of eight by defeating world No. 5 Han Yue of China 21-16, 21-14 in just 35 minutes. The convincing victory underlined her strong form and made her the only Indian player left in contention at the BWF Super 750 event.
Chen Yufei heads into the semifinal in impressive form, having won the Indonesia Masters earlier this year while also reaching the finals of the Thailand and Malaysia Super 500 tournaments. She has consistently progressed to the latter stages of major events, including the Singapore and India Super 750 tournaments as well as the Malaysia Open and All England Super 1000 events.
India’s campaign ended for the remaining contenders. Mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto exited after a straight game defeat to China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, while Unnati Hooda was knocked out in the women’s singles. India’s men’s doubles challenge had already concluded in the opening round earlier in the tournament.
