After Japan Open triumph, Sindhu targets a sixth Worlds medal next

A title after 20 months is perhaps the best preparation P.V. Sindhu could hope for in the run-up to the prestigious World Badminton Championships at home.

Becoming the first ever Indian winner of the Japan Open on Sunday, a Super750 event, against home favourite Akane Yamaguchi was made more special by the fact that this was Sindhu’s first win in a completed match against Yamaguchi in four years. More importantly, it was Sindhu’s first World Tour title outside India in four years, since the 2022 Singapore Open.

“It has been a long time, almost two years… and it feels really special. There was a lot of hard work, on and off the court. I suffered injuries and struggled with a lot of niggles, fought to get fit and competitive. We play hard on the court but there is a lot more that happens off it, and I believe there cannot be a better run-up to the World Championships,” Sindhu said in a virtual interaction on Sunday.

The intensity of the achievement can be gauged from the fact that Sindhu, not the most expressive player, was teary-eyed after the match. “I had tears in my eyes because it was very, very important for me to win. I kept believing I could do it. Even though a lot of people were asking if I was ‘done’, I still believed in myself, my family, my coaches, and my support staff,” she admitted, crediting coach Irwansyah, strength and conditioning trainer Wayne Lombard and her family.

Sindhu is now aiming to be the first shuttler ever to win an unprecedented six World Championships medals and her second title at home. “I would really want to do that and doing so at home would make it special. But I have the China Open before that, and at the moment I am focusing on it”.