Japan Open 2026: PV Sindhu reaches final after Chen Yufei retires

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Indian badminton star PV Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles final of the Japan Open 2026 after her semi-final opponent Chen Yufei of the People’s Republic of China retired hurt midway through the second game on Saturday.

The World No 12 was leading the match 21-19, 15-10 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium when Chen, the world No. 4 and former Olympic champion, withdrew due to a hamstring injury.

The Indian shuttler will now square off against home favourite and world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi in Sunday’s championship match. Yamaguchi secured her spot in the finale by overcoming Indonesia’s world No. 6 Putri Kusuma Wardani in the alternative semifinal encounter.

This upcoming title clash represents a major milestone for the Indian icon, marking her first appearance in a BWF World Tour final since her victorious campaign at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament back in December 2024. Additionally, it’s her first-ever final appearance at the Japan Open.

PV Sindhu through to the final after an injury to Chen

Coming into the semi-final with an 8-6 head-to-head record against Chen, Sindhu made a strong start and raced to a 16-11 lead in the opening game. However, Chen, who had defeated Sindhu in their previous four meetings, fought back to level the score at 18-18. Sindhu held her nerve in the closing stages to take the first game 21-19.

The Indian continued her momentum in the second game and maintained the lead before Chen was forced to stop the contest after 44 minutes due to injury. Before this unfortunate stoppage, the former world champion’s last victory over the Chinese player had taken place during the semifinals of the 2019 BWF World Championships, a tournament she eventually went on to win.

With this victory, Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to reach the Japan Open final. She is also the only Indian player remaining in the tournament this year.

The rest of the Indian contingent endured a challenging outing in Tokyo. The men’s singles challenges faded quickly as Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty suffered opening-round defeats, while the elite men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had to withdraw mid-match due to physical issues in their opener. 

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