Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the women's singles semi-finals of Australian Open Super 500 badminton tournament with a commanding, straight-game win on Friday. The third-seeded Indian completely outclassed Chinese Taipei's Chen Su Yu in a one-sided quarter-final contest, wrapping up the match 21-6, 21-9 in just 27 minutes.
PV Sindhu walks into Australian Open's semifinals
Sindhu dominated the proceedings right from the outset, effectively using her superior reach and excellent court coverage to keep her opponent under constant pressure. She raced through the opening game with ease before maintaining that fierce momentum in the second to comfortably seal her place in the last-four.
Tanvi Sharma bows out
The former world champion will next face top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semi-finals. Yamaguchi booked her spot after ending the impressive run of Indian teenager Tanvi Sharma with a 21-14, 21-14 victory in 32 minutes. Ahead of this heavyweight clash, Sindhu holds a narrow 15-13 head-to-head advantage over the world No. 3 Japanese player.
Securing a spot in the semi-finals provides a crucial confidence boost for PV Sindhu, who has been searching for consistency and rhythm on the BWF World Tour this season. The former world champion is highly motivated to break her title drought, aiming to capture her first championship since her triumph at the Syed Modi International in December 2024. Her path to the final four was paved earlier in the tournament when she defeated fellow compatriot Isharani Baruah in the pre-quarterfinals to secure her place in the last eight.
In contrast, the tournament came to an early end for India's men's doubles campaign. The pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun exited in the quarterfinals after being forced to concede their match. At the time of their retirement, the Indian duo was trailing 19-21, 9-16 against the Chinese Taipei tandem of Chen Cheng Kuan and Liu Kuang Heng.