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India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu's quest for her first major title in the ongoing 2026 season continued as she went down to reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2026 in Sydney on Saturday.
The world No. 10 lost 22-20, 21-12 to world No. 3 Yamaguchi in a 43-minute clash in the BWF Super 500 tournament, according to Olympics.com This was Sindhu's second semi-final finish on the 2026 BWF World Tour. Earlier, she had reached the last four at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 in January, where she was defeated by China's Wang Zhiyi. The two-time Olympic medallist's most recent title on the BWF circuit came at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow in 2024. In a closely fought opening game, Sindhu made a strong start and held a slim advantage at the mid-game break. After the restart, Yamaguchi surged back with a six-point streak to take control, before Sindhu responded to regain momentum and edge ahead once again. The game went down to the wire, with Sindhu saving a match point at 20-19, but she eventually conceded the opener. In the second game, Yamaguchi dominated from the outset, racing to a 13-6 lead with a run of seven consecutive points and maintaining control to seal the match. With this defeat, Sindhu's campaign at the tournament came to an end, marking the exit of all Indian players from the Australian Open. India's men's doubles challenge had ended earlier after MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan retired from their quarter-final match, while none of the Indian men's singles players progressed beyond the opening round. (ANI)
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