PV Sindhu stunned World No.5 Han Yue to reach Japan Open quarterfinals

Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu produced one of her best performances of the season as she edged past world No.5 Han Yue of China in straight games to storm into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

The world number 10 Indians needed just 35 minutes to register a commanding 21-16, 21-14 victory over the higher ranked Chinese shuttlers in their second round match.

After a slow start, unseeded Sindhu found her rhythm midway through the opening game, hitting the shuttlecock cleanly and dictating the rally to take the lead.

The former world champion then completely dominated the second game as he raced to an 8-0 advantage before comfortably closing out the match.

With the win, Sindhu improved her head-to-head record against Han to 8-1.

AN SE YOUNG RETREAT

The 31-year-old next faces well-known rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who was suspended after top seed An Se-young of South Korea withdrew from the match in the second round.

Sindhu is now the only Indian survivor in the tournament after the mixed pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals.

The Indian duo battled hard before losing 20-22, 17-21 to top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China in their round of 16 clash in 47 minutes.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

16 Jul 2026 14:30 IST