PV Sindhu turned back the clock in Tokyo on Sunday, beating home favourite Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 to lift her first-ever Japan Open trophy in the women's singles final of the BWF Super 750 tournament.
A title more than two years in the making
The win is Sindhu's first Super 750 title and snaps a title drought that had stretched beyond two years. It also makes her the first Indian shuttler to win the Japan Open, and marks her biggest career triumph since she claimed the BWF World Championships crown in 2019.
Taking down a three-time world champion
Yamaguchi, ranked world No. 3 and a three-time world champion, had home advantage and a partisan crowd behind her, but Sindhu matched the occasion with an assured all-round game, mixing aggressive smashes with delicate net play and disciplined shot selection to control the match from start to finish.
How the first game unfolded
Sindhu opened the match on the front foot, racing to a 3-0 lead before Yamaguchi clawed her way back to level the score. The two traded the advantage through a tight opening game, and it was the Japanese player who held a slim lead at the mid-game interval.
The break, however, worked in Sindhu's favour. A 36-shot rally helped her draw level again, after which she began dominating net exchanges and firing cross-court winners to build a four-point lead at 16-12. Yamaguchi cut into that lead, but Sindhu stayed composed in the closing stretch. A string of attacking winners, combined with an error from Yamaguchi, handed Sindhu three game points, and she closed out the opener with a precisely placed push into the backhand corner.
Second game: total forecourt control
Sindhu carried her momentum straight into the second game, dominating the forecourt and repeatedly forcing Yamaguchi into defensive lifts that she then punished with steep smashes. A punishing 44-shot rally was a sign of her physical dominance, helping her surge to an 8-3 lead that she stretched to 11-7 by the interval.
Yamaguchi made one last push, cutting the gap to 14-12 and then 19-17, but Sindhu did not let the pressure rattle her. Two powerful smashes put her back in command, earning her three championship points. The match ended when Yamaguchi's return sailed long, a call that a video review confirmed.
Why the win means so much
The victory carried extra weight because Sindhu had not beaten Yamaguchi in a completed match in four years. Yamaguchi, playing in her sixth Japan Open final, was beaten by a Sindhu who produced one of her finest performances in recent seasons, reminding everyone of the attacking flair and composure that once made her one of the sport's premier players.
With the Tokyo title in hand, Sindhu has not just ended her long wait for silverware, she has also served notice ahead of the major international events scheduled later this season.
