Vintage PV Sindhu rolls back the clock in Tokyo
Aggression, jump smashes from back court, net dribbles from forecourt – the 2026 Japan Open was a timely reminder of what the badminton world has missed in recent years. It was PV Sindhu of old, roaring after every point, stretching herself for every point, attacking at every opportunity. Since that ill-timed stress fracture on her left ankle at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham four years ago, Sindhu had been a pale shadow of her best. On Sunday at the 2026 Japan Open final against long-time rival Akane Yamaguchi, it was as if Sindhu had a point to prove. She wanted the world to note that she still had it. “I had tears in my eyes,” she said, after winning her first major title since the BWF World Championships in Basel, Switzerland in 2019. “It was very, very important for me to win because I was really focusing hard and working hard on myself. “And, even though a lot of people were like, “What’s happening? Is she done?” or whatever it is, I still believed …
