PV Sindhu has won the most important title in her long career to date in the Japan Open on Sunday, July 19. The big win ended a long-time frustration for the Indian badminton great to win a World Tour title at the upper ends of the badminton world. Since she won the Singapore Open Super 500 in 2022, Sindhu had been in difficult times; she had to play chess and make the match, at times she had to get to the first round of the World Tour in her first few tournaments. She had won the Syed Modi India International Super 300 in December 2024, and she had been able to win a big title at the top of the World Tour, but that was not enough.
Sindhu’s win at Super 750 in Tokyo on Sunday ended the jinx in India’s history and became the first Indian shuttler to win the prestigious Japan Open title in history, and it’s the first one for India. In an absolute masterclass of tactical discipline and grit, she beat the world champion and home favorite Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 and won in straight games. As the oldest women's singles player to win a World Tour title, Sindhu made history with the winner’s trophy and showed that she has always been hard-working and studying and doing things she can only do because of her Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.
Sindhu was unable to express her feelings when she spoke to the Badminton World Federation following her euphoric victory. As she explained in a speech that was quite emotional at the moment, it was a huge achievement to get on the top step of the podium after 19 months since her Syed Modi victory, and reaching a final is a great achievement, but getting the gold medal is an entirely different one.
It was not simple in the final. World No. 3 Yamaguchi was in her sixth Japan Open final to an enthusiastic home crowd, and Sindhu’s performance had not been great for four long years after her last match and had mostly been Yamaguchi or retired in her last few games. But Sunday belonged to the Indian maestro. Sindhu took charge from the start and dominated Yamaguchi from the first point through a net performance and forced Yamaguchi into defensive lifts and rallies with a number of cross-court and body smashes.
Even at 17-17 and in a second match where Yamaguchi overcame a seven-point deficit to take the lead 14-12, Sindhu maintained her composure. So even when she couldn’t play well enough, she fought and took advantage of Yamaguchi’s unforced errors to win the match. As Yamaguchi’s final shot was well long, World No. 10 Sindhu was down on her knees crying and covering her face in her hands—the tears were because it was so long since she felt she couldn’t. A gracious Yamaguchi later said Sindhu’s aggressive play and great smashes were too strong, and she won the match.
