PV Sindhu Yamaguchi

An emotional PV Sindhu said her unwavering self-belief had finally paid off after claiming her biggest title in six years at the Japan Open, vowing to carry the same tempo and composure into next month's World Championships, where she will bid for a record sixth medal. Sindhu produced a vintage display of attacking badminton to outclass local favourite and three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 on Sunday. "Well, actually I had tears in my eyes because it was very important for me to win. Because I was really focusing hard and working hard on myself," two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu said after ending a title drought of almost two years. Sindhu's previous title came at the Syed Modi International in December, 2024. The Indian ace triumph at Tokyo was her biggest since winning the World Championships in 2019. She had also won the Singapore Open Super 500 title in 2022. "I'm just out of words because it was 19 months since I had won ... I kept believing that I could d

Sindhu crashed out of the Indonesia Masters Super 750 badminton tournament after suffering a straight game defeat in the semifinals against Japanese top seed Akane Yamaguchi

Sindhu had clinched her fifth victory over the world number six Japanese