PV Sindhu has created history. The double Olympic medalist has become the first Indian player to win the title of Japan Open Super 750 tournament. With this, Sindhu has also ended the title drought that had been going on for two years. He won his previous title at the Syed Modi International in 2024.
Sindhu defeated title contender Akane Yamaguchi in straight games in the final match played on Sunday (July 19). He defeated three-time world champion Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 by maintaining continuous attack as well as strategic discipline and composure in important moments. This victory of Sindhu is her biggest title win after winning the World Championship title in 2019.
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Defeated Yamaguchi in a full match after 4 years
Yamaguchi was playing in the Japan Open final for the sixth time, while Sindhu had not defeated the Japanese player in a full match in the last 4 years. Earlier this year, at the Malaysia Open, Sindhu had won after Yamaguchi withdrew after the first game. Sindhu’s last win against Yamaguchi in a full match was at the Thailand Open in 2022.
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Sindhu was better than Yamaguchi on every front.
In the final on Sunday, the Indian players maintained their dominance from the beginning. He controlled the game brilliantly and played strategy rather than just strength. Whenever Yamaguchi tried to make a comeback, Sindhu gave a strong reply. Along with the tremendous smash in the match, Sindhu’s accurate play at the net also proved to be decisive. He repeatedly placed the shuttle close to the net, forcing Yamaguchi to lift the shuttle higher and giving him opportunities to hit his favorite cross court and body smashes.
Sindhu initially took a 3-0 lead but unforced errors by the Indian player allowed Yamaguchi to level the score at 3-3. Both the players made mistakes in the beginning but then Sindhu played brilliantly at the net and took a lead of 9-6. Yamaguchi got a chance to make a comeback due to two consecutive mistakes by the Indian player and he made the score 9-9 with a body smash. Yamaguchi managed to take an 11-9 lead at the break. After the break, Sindhu won a tremendous rally of 36 shots and leveled the score at 11-11. She went ahead 13-12 with a powerful cross court smash and then made it 16-12.
When the score was 17-15, there was a brilliant 38-shot rally between the two players, in which Yamaguchi displayed excellent defense. After this Sindhu gave the Japanese player a chance to equalize. Sindhu made it 19-17 with a cross court smash and a mistake by Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi’s shot then went into the net, giving Sindhu three game points and the Indian then won the game with a precise shot into the corner.
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Sindhu showed excellent play in the second game also
Sindhu maintained her rhythm in the second game also. Another exhausting 44-shot rally ended when Yamaguchi’s shot went wide. Sindhu took the lead 8-3 with six consecutive points. Yamaguchi made a comeback to reduce the score to 7-8 but the Indian player took an 11-7 lead at the break. Sindhu increased her lead to 14-7 but the Japanese player narrowed the gap to 12-14 with the help of an excellent net shot, deep flat push and some errors by the Indian player.
A mistake at the net broke Yamaguchi’s momentum. Sindhu made the score 17-14 with two powerful smashes and then took it to 19-17. The Japanese player then hit a return outside and made a mistake at the net, giving Sindhu three championship points. Yamaguchi hit the return outside and handed the title to Sindhu. The line call was deemed correct after video review, after which Sindhu hugged her coach.
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