Not so long ago, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that PV Sindhu was facing an existential crisis. No matter what she did, something just seemed amiss in her game. Crushing losses kept stacking up and a win or two would be treated as sort of a balm, a reference point for her to retrace her old steps. Even for a seasoned star like her, it was demoralising to say the least. And yet the double Olympic medallist never lost her willingness to fight. That is something that has been the hallmark of her career. And that fight has helped her many big battles over the years. With younger and stronger shuttlers coming up, her recovery was painfully slow.
After a much-improved start to the new season, she now finds herself just a step away from a title. There's spring in her steps, there's more venom in her smashes and as has been the case throughout her career, the drive to grind out momentum-shifting points are clearly there.
World No 4 Chen Yufei — an opponent who had proven to be a thorn for her in recent years — faced the re-energised version of Sindhu on Saturday and couldn't handle the heat that the Indian brought on the court in the ongoing Japan Open. The 31-year-old was at her attacking-best as she beat the Chinese shuttler for the first time since 2019 to book a spot in the women's singles final.
The World No 10 is now just one hit away from winning her first title since 2024 — her last win on BWF World Tour was the Syed Modi International.
After edging the 2020 Olympics champion in the opening game, Sindhu was clearly in control of the second game before Chen retired. The final score-line read 21-19, 15-10 in Sindhu's favour. After a close early exchange, Sindhu, with her powerful smashes and some fine returns, took control of the proceedings. However, she squandered her handy lead to let Chen get back in the contest. Sindhu was coasting along nicely, 16-11 up, before Chen closed the gap to make it 19-19. But Sindhu held her nerve to pocket the game. Speaking to reporters after the match, Sindhu stressed on the importance of taking the lead.
"I'm very happy that I’m in the final. Every match matters a lot. Today (Saturday) it was important to be focussed against a player like her. When you play with top-ranked players, every point matters. Winning that first game really mattered a lot," Sindhu said.
"(...) When you're leading and you give away points, you suddenly get disheartened... A lot of emotions go in your head but my coach was saying, 'it's okay, it doesn't matter, just focus on the next point'. I think that really helped," she added.
Sindhu will go on to face home hero Akane Yamaguchi, who had to dig deep to get the better of Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the other semifinals.