New Delhi: For a player whose career is measured in Olympic metal and World Championship medals, the drought of finals had become an uncomfortable noise.
It had been over two years since her last World Tour final at the lower-tier Syed Modi International at Lucknow in December 2024, and nearly five years since she last entered a final above the Super 500 level. At the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the 31-year-old didn’t just dial back the clock, she smashed it to pieces.
The double Olympic medallist advanced to the final of the $950,000 Japan Open on Saturday. She will have a chance to end her title drought on Sunday after securing a final spot when China’s Chen Yufei retired in the second game due to a hamstring injury.
Sindhu was in complete control of the 44-minute match, leading 21-19, 15-10 when the fourth-seeded Chinese star retired. She will face Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the final.
The last time Sindhu was in a final, the former world champion won. However, she lost her last final outside India, at the Malaysia Masters in 2024.
This is the first time since the 2019 World Championships — Sindhu won — that she has moved past the 2021 Olympic champion, giving her a psychological edge ahead of the final. The head-to-head now stands 8-7, in favour of Chen.
Sindhu’s explosive attack kept Chen on the defensive from the start. “I wanted to play at 100 percent, but she played very well,” Chen said. “Her attack was explosive and I was always defending. I felt I couldn’t go on in the second.”
{{/usCountry}}Sindhu’s explosive attack kept Chen on the defensive from the start. “I wanted to play at 100 percent, but she played very well,” Chen said. “Her attack was explosive and I was always defending. I felt I couldn’t go on in the second.”
{{/usCountry}}Sindhu, who showed aggressive intent and mental resolve, said: “Today, it was important to be focused against a player like her. I was leading and she came close, so I had to be focused.”
With an explosive attack and razor-sharp net play, Sindhu controlled the tempo and raced to a 16-11 lead, her smashes landing precisely. Chen, nursing the hamstring injury picked up during her quarter-final, was trapped as she desperately defended.
Even when the Chinese star dug deep to level the opening game at 18-all, Sindhu showed mental steel to close it out 21-19.
By the second game, Sindhu’s pace began to take its toll on the Chinese. As Sindhu led 15-10, the pressure forced Chen to concede.
To claim her maiden Super 750 title, the world No.10 must defeat Akane, the reigning world champion and third seed, on her home court.
Yamaguchi, a four-time Japan Open winner, staged a comeback victory against Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani. Sindhu holds a 15-14 head-to-head advantage over the Japanese star.
Sindhu’s resurgence comes a month before the BWF World Championships in Delhi. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand was unsurprised by the performance. He noted that when Sindhu plays with her signature speed — as she did in her straight-games win over world No.5 Han Yue in the second round — opponents struggle to cope.
“Whether it is Chen Yufei or Wang Zhiyi... she can beat them,” Gopichand said at the launch of the BWF World Championships mascot and anthem. “Many of them still can’t read her game. She is going to be a definite threat for the top players.”