Tokyo [Japan], July 18 (ANI): Indian badminton star PV Sindhu advanced to the women's singles final of the Japan Open 2026 after her semi-final opponent Chen Yufei of the People's Republic of China retired hurt midway through the second game on Saturday.

The Olympic medallist, ranked 12th in the world, was leading the match 21-19, 15-10 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium when Chen, the world No. 4 and former Olympic champion, withdrew due to a hamstring injury, according to Olympics.com.

Sindhu will now take on Japan's world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi in the title clash on Sunday. Yamaguchi booked her place in the final after defeating Indonesia's sixth-ranked Putri Kusuma Wardani in the other semi-final.

The final will mark Sindhu's first appearance in a BWF World Tour title clash since she won the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament in December 2024. It will also be her maiden final appearance at a BWF Super 750 event.

Coming into the semi-final with an 8-6 head-to-head record against Chen, Sindhu made a strong start and raced to a 16-11 lead in the opening game. However, Chen, who had defeated Sindhu in their previous four meetings, fought back to level the score at 18-18. Sindhu held her nerve in the closing stages to take the first game 21-19.

The Indian continued her momentum in the second game and maintained the lead before Chen was forced to stop the contest after 44 minutes due to injury, according to Olympics.com.

Sindhu's previous win over Chen had come in the semi-finals of the 2019 BWF World Championships, where the Indian went on to claim the title.

With this victory, Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to reach the Japan Open final. She is also the only Indian player remaining in the tournament this year.

India's campaign in the event saw early exits for Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, who were knocked out in the opening round, while the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had to retire hurt during their first match. The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. (ANI)