Sindhu wins Japan Open with scorching win over home contender Akane Yamaguchi

It was mindful menacing from the 5-ft-11 against an opponent who’s barely 5-ft-1, but has used tall tosses and relentlessness to bother Sindhu. On Sunday, Sindhu tore apart the sturdy resolve that has blocked her so many times to register a truly dominant win that’s been missing over the last few years. LA Olympics can expect a serious Indian contention in women’s singles.

PV Sindhu Is The Champion Of The Japan Open 2026 ❤️🏆

This Is Sindhu’s 1st S750 Title And Her 1st World Tour Title Since The 2024 Syed Modi International .

Sindhu Will Enter The Top 8 In The World Rankings Next Week .#JapanOpen2026 https://t.co/3ujCCQggQP pic.twitter.com/7evCCTdnJx

— Badminton Media (@BadmintonMedia1) July 19, 2026

This was Sindhu’s biggest Tour title after the World Tour Finals and China Open she won back in 2018 and 2016 respectively. Yamaguchi had denied her some really big moments including Indonesia Super 1000 final in 2019 and Super Series Finals in 2019. But the Sunday triumph was a dial-back to her World Championship triumph in the manner of decimation.

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Chen Yufei had warned after her semis retirement that the Sindhu attack was impossible to parry, the power quite a handful. But Yamaguchi, unfazed always, needed to taste it for herself. It was like biting into a huge chunk of green chilli for someone chomping into bland dimsums.

The spice came from not just the regal crosscourt statement smashes. Those a never enough against the Japanese. It needed punk-headed persistence in punishing rallies and the use of two tormenting weapons – her height and the looming storm to the net for smash follow-ups.

PV Sindhu downed Akane Yamaguchi to win the Japen Open title on Sunday. (BAI)

Since her Olympics silver, Sindhu has relied on sky-high tosses to destabilize the two short-framed Japanese. So Sindhu kept the shuttle in stratosphere by any method possible: the clears, the tosses, the lifts, everything was geared towards blurring Yamaguchi’s hitting radar, as the shuttles went long and wide. The net follow-ups seen from the Yamaguchi eye-level are like an approaching tornado.

Sindhu trailed 9-11 in the first, but even that was ominous. A tiny, tasty trend had shown up quite early: mirrored aggression. When Yamaguchi, a World No 3 smashed on Sindhu’s body to get to 6-5, Sindhu immediately retaliated with a similar body smash the very next point. The theme would play out recurringly. So when the 28-year-old home favourite took the lead at 11-9 going over Sindhu’s head with a lob, Sindhu’s immediate reaction coming out of the break was to lift over the Japanese’ moptop to go to 11-10. You don’t train to execute grudges like those. The Indian simply had the weapons.

Early exchanges were short, but at a punishing pace that never subsided till the first long rally of 36 shots came up at 11-11. Yamaguchi had a delectable low pickup backhand cross slaloming the net for 12-9, but it was Sindhu all the way thereafter. From 16-12 down to 16-15, the Japanese got her only plan right: targeting Sindhu’s far forehand corner. But the Indian was undeterred, and with an explosive net game, she ran with it to silence the home crowd.

Yamaguchi’s last real throw of the dice came when she was 15-17 down. An unforgettable point right after she had done a 360 and collapsed trying to intercept a straight bullet whizzing past her – needing the 360 because the Indian had hit it so savagely, it went past her in a tizzy. On the next point, Sindhu smashed at her ribs, but Yamaguchi’s reflex parry ballooned and fell on the front court.

But the more the World No 3 resisted getting blown out, the angrier the Sindhu storm got. The tall thundering tosses were back on the roof leading to Yamaguchi bundling them in the net because she couldn’t control the striking trajectory as the first set was ended with vengeance.

Both were exhausted and doubling over. But Sindhu vs Japan is always about hitting the wall and finding second wind. Sindhu found a gust. So the second set, had more of Sindhu lobbing skiers and the Japanese dizzy from having to tame those with her short stature.

Yamaguchi doesn’t have three World Championship titles for no reason. She amped up the altitude, and started retorting to them with high clears of her own — the plan being to deny Sindhu the ideal smashing length. It worked for three points exactly – 8-4 to 8-7. But Sindhu guarded her lead zealously.

And though 14-7 became 18-17, the late surge from the Japanese was never going to be enough. Her end came chasing one of those tall tosses that drifted long. Sindhu knew she had the win. But Yamaguchi challenged anyway. Sindhu would not be denied.

Sindhu has more Olympic and World medals than Super 750+1000 Tour titles – this was just her third. But it came against a rival with a nursed, nurtured grudge. On Sunday she dimmed out Tokyo’s bright, neons, returning to take the top podium that had been in her reach at the 2021 Olympics. Yamaguchi was squarely beaten.