What a Comeback! PV Sindhu Storms Into Historic Japan Open Final, One Win Away From Title

PV Sindhu is back where she belongs, in a final . The two-time Olympic medallist stormed into her first Japan Open summit clash on Saturday after China's Chen Yufei , the Tokyo Olympics champion, retired midway through their semifinal with a hamstring injury.

Sindhu was firmly in control, leading 21-19, 15-10 , when the world No. 4 was forced to pull out after 44 minutes on court at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. It was a result few would have predicted going in, Sindhu arrived at the semifinal having lost her last five meetings with Chen, including a straight-games defeat at this year's Indonesia Masters.

But the 31-year-old Indian silenced the doubts with a fearless start, racing to a 16-11 lead in the opening game. Chen, true to her never-say-die reputation, clawed her way back to level at 18-18, only for Sindhu to hold her nerve and close out the game 21-19 . She carried that momentum straight into the second game, surging to 15-10 before Chen signalled she could not continue.

This is Sindhu's first tour final since she won the Syed Modi International in Lucknow back in December 2024, and her first Super 750 final appearance in over two years. Her last win over Chen, fittingly, came at the 2019 World Championships semifinal, a tournament she went on to win, becoming India's first badminton world champion .

The victory also makes Sindhu the first Indian shuttler ever to reach a Japan Open final, and the lone Indian survivor in the draw after Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty exited early.

Sindhu's road back has not been easy. She began 2026 ranked a lowly World No. 18 , having endured injuries, coaching changes and early exits that raised uncomfortable questions about her career's twilight. She has twice stood agonisingly close to badminton's biggest prizes, silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020 — without ever completing the set with Olympic gold. Now ranked World No. 9 and climbing, this final represents the clearest sign yet that the old fire is returning.

On Sunday, Sindhu faces the winner of the other semifinal, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi or Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, for a title that would mark her long-awaited return to the winner's circle.