Tokyo, July 19: An emotional PV Sindhu said her unwavering self-belief had finally paid off after claiming her biggest title in six years at the Japan Open, vowing to carry the same tempo and composure into next month’s World Championships, where she will bid for a record sixth medal.
Sindhu produced a vintage display of attacking badminton to outclass local favourite and three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 on Sunday.
“Well, actually I had tears in my eyes because it was very important for me to win. Because I was really focusing hard and working hard on myself,” two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu said after ending a title drought of almost two years.
Sindhu’s previous title came at the Syed Modi International in December, 2024. The Indian ace triumph at Tokyo was her biggest since winning the World Championships in 2019. She had also won the Singapore Open Super 500 title in 2022.
“I’m just out of words because it was 19 months since I had won … I kept believing that I could do it. Even though a lot of people were like, what’s happening? Is it done or whatever it is? But I still believed in myself and I want to thank my family, my coaches and my support staff.”
The victory has also rekindled hopes of an unprecedented sixth World Championships medal when India hosts the event from August 17 to 23.
Sindhu already owns five World Championships medals, including the historic gold in 2019, and another podium finish would make her the first women’s singles player to win six medals at the event.
Sindhu said the Japan Open triumph’s timing could not have been more perfect.
“I need to keep up the same tempo and maintain the same calmness. And stay confident and keep going. That is the aim. And I think it’s really good to win at this time and maintain that,” she said.
Asked what clicked for her this week, Sindhu said staying calm and cutting down on unforced errors made the difference.
“Irrespective of these semis or finals or let’s say first round or second round, I think it was important to stay calm.
“Sometimes when you’re leading you make sure you want to finish the rallies quicker and you tend to make simple errors which did happen actually in the second game. But my coach was like ‘it’s okay just focus on the next point’.
Reflecting on the final, Sindhu said she knew she could not afford to relax despite holding the advantage.
“It was very important to make sure that I stay positive all the time. Even though in the first game I was leading and then she came close because with the top athletes you cannot take it easy even though you’re leading.
“It was very important even though I was leading that each point mattered and I maintained the same aggressiveness and even the second set it was the same.
“In the end, I couldn’t control my emotions. I think it was a really good game because there were really long rallies and I won some of those big rallies so it was important that way,” she added. (PTI)
