Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles semi-finals of the Japan Open after former world champion Nozomi Okuhara withdrew from their quarter-final match on Friday. The Indian badminton star secured a place in the last four of a Super 750 tournament for the first time since the Denmark Open in 2023.

Sindhu, the 2019 world champion, entered the semi-finals without taking the court as Okuhara pulled out before the scheduled quarter-final clash. The result marks another important milestone in Sindhu’s ongoing season, as it is her third semi-final appearance after strong performances at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and the Australian Open Super 500 events.

The withdrawal also continued a tournament pattern involving Okuhara, who had earlier progressed to the quarter-finals after South Korea’s An Se-young withdrew from their pre-quarterfinal match due to a left foot injury. Sindhu’s latest result keeps her strong run alive at the Japan Open and provides another opportunity to challenge for a major international title.

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Sindhu will now face Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The fourth-seeded Chinese player booked her place in the final four with a comfortable 21-10, 21-12 victory over South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin.

The upcoming contest will be a major test for Sindhu, who trails Chen 8-6 in their career head-to-head record. Chen has won their last four encounters, including a straight-games victory at this year’s Indonesia Masters, but Sindhu’s most memorable victory over the Chinese player came in the 2019 World Championships semi-finals, where she went on to become India’s first badminton world champion.

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