Indian badminton sensation and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the Round of 16 at the China Open after a tough win over Japan's sixth-seeded Tomoka Miyazaki on Wednesday.
The match was decided with the final score reading 21-15, 8-21, 21-17 in Sindhu's favour, securing her position for the next round after a tense 62-minute battle.
Sindhu opened with purpose, building a 6-2 lead early on by showing impressive court sense and clinical shot choosing. Her quick lunges and well-placed lifts enabled her to dictate the rallies and build her lead to 10-5, eventually widening it to 16-9. While Miyazaki did try to mount a comeback, the Indian sealed the first game comfortably at 21-15.
The second game, however, changed the course of the match. Miyazaki regained her composure and found her rhythm, going 11-7 ahead at the break. Momentum restored, the Japanese player overwhelmed Sindhu to take the match to a decider with a dominating 21-8 victory.
In the deciding match, Sindhu took an early lead, surging to 5-1 with some unforced errors from Miyazaki. When they changed sides, she led 11-2. While Miyazaki tried to narrow the gap from the weaker end, Sindhu remained calm, staying in charge and clinching the match at 21-17.
Speaking after the match, Sindhu said:
"It was a highly anticipated victory for me and beating her, it was even difficult. The first round was extremely significant for me to overcome and I'm glad that I did overcome the first round. And it was three sets and even in the third set, it was significant for me to get ahead right from the start since one side was extremely handicapped and one side was an advantage.".
"It began really well, but in the second match it was difficult for me to handle. In the third match, it was necessary that I get a lead and hold on to it, because you never know something is going to happen. So I established a lead up to 11-2 and then switched courts. I had to hold on to the lead, although it was like two or three or four points, and just hold the lead and keep moving."
This was Sindhu's second meeting against 18-year-old Miyazaki, whom she had lost to at the Swiss Open last year. Commenting about her young opponent, Sindhu said:
"She's playing well and has been playing well for a long time now. It was crucial for me to win these matches so that it will also give me a moral high and also that confidence.".
"Because sometimes I've been playing three games, I've been getting close, but I've been losing. So it was a good victory for me and I have to keep this rhythm and keep going. But, even though she is young, she is playing well and she's in the lead at the moment."
The win is a much-needed shot in the arm for Sindhu, who has so far had a disappointing 2025 BWF World Tour campaign. Her highlight of the year was reaching the quarter-final stage at the India Open in January. That was then followed by a string of early losses, including four first-round losses and two Round-of-16 exits. Last week, she was eliminated in the first round of the Japan Open by Korea's Sim Yu Jin.
In men's doubles play, Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty put up a dominating show to reach the Round of 16. The duo easily brushed aside Japan's Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura with a comprehensive 21-13, 21-9 victory in straight games.
Elsewhere, in the women's doubles event, Panda sisters Rutaparna and Swetaparna received a stiff test against an experienced Hong Kong China pair and were eliminated from the tournament
Read also| Karun Nair Criticized Ahead of India-England 4th Test: ‘Not Expected from a No. 3’
