Indonesia Open: PV Sindhu falls to Olympic champion An Seyoung in second round
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu exited the Indonesia Open after a straight-games defeat to world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion An Seyoung in the second round.
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India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the semifinals of the women’s singles event at the Malaysia Open after her Japanese opponent, Akane Yamaguchi, retired mid-match due to injury at the Axiata Arena on Friday.
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The two-time Olympic medallist was leading 21-11 when reigning world champion Yamaguchi informed the chair umpire that she could not continue, citing discomfort that severely hampered her movement.
PV SINDHU STORMS INTO SEMI FINAL !
She won the first game 21-11 against the Reigning World Champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan , Later Akane had to retire due to injury concern!
ALL THE BEST FOR SEMIS, SINDHU! pic.twitter.com/8M9LfulXeQ
— Kushal Sharma (@KushalSharma_89) January 9, 2026
Yamaguchi entered the court wearing a knee brace and appeared uncomfortable from the outset, as Sindhu raced to a commanding 10-2 lead in the opening game. The Japanese shuttler struggled to move freely and didn’t look happy when her shots drifted wide. Her strategy of pushing Sindhu deep into the backcourt earned her 11 points, but a number of errors limited her from putting up a serious challenge.
Sindhu closed the first game in just 12 minutes before Yamaguchi decided to concede, handing the Indian her first Super 1000 semifinal appearance in three years. The result also marked Sindhu’s first Malaysia Open semifinal in eight years.
Sindhu will next face either sixth-seeded Indonesian Putri Kusuma Wardani or second-seeded Chinese shuttler Wang Zhi Yi for a place in the final.
Earlier in the tournament, Sindhu defeated 19-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki 21-8, 21-13 in 33 minutes to reach her first Super 1000 quarterfinal of the season.
In men’s doubles, India’s two-time world championships bronze medallists Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will take on Indonesia’s sixth-seeded pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in the quarterfinals. The third-seeded Indian duo progressed after registering a 21-18, 21-11 win over Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap in 39 minutes on Thursday, extending their head-to-head record against the Malaysians to 4–0.
Meanwhile, India suffered a setback in women’s doubles, with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bowing out in the opening round after a closely contested 21-9, 21-23, 21-19 defeat to Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari on Wednesday.
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