PV Sindhu stormed into the women’s singles final of the Japan Open 2026 after China’s Chen Yufei retired with an injury during their semi-final on Saturday.
Sindhu, ranked world No. 12, had already taken the first game 21-19 and was leading 15-10 in the second at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, when Chen, the world No. 4 and former Olympic champion, pulled out with a hamstring injury.
The Indian star will now take on Japan’s world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi in Sunday’s final. Yamaguchi booked her place by defeating Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani in the other semi-final.
This will be Sindhu’s first BWF World Tour final since she won the Syed Modi International Super 300 title in December 2024. It is also her maiden final in a BWF Super 750 tournament.
Sindhu came into the match with a 6-8 head-to-head record against Chen but made a strong start, opening up a 16-11 lead in the first game.
Chen fought back impressively to level the score at 18-18, but Sindhu held her nerve to close out the opening game 21-19.
The Indian carried that momentum into the second game and quickly moved ahead. With Sindhu leading 15-10, Chen was unable to continue because of a hamstring injury, giving the Indian a place in the final after a 44-minute contest.
Before Saturday, Sindhu’s last win over Chen had come in the semi-finals of the 2019 BWF World Championships, a tournament she went on to win.
The victory also made Sindhu the first Indian shuttler to reach the Japan Open final.
Sindhu is the only Indian left in the tournament. Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty were knocked out in the opening round, while the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty retired injured during their first match.
India’s mixed doubles campaign had already ended in the pre-quarterfinals after Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were eliminated.
