India’s star shuttler P. V. Sindhu progressed to the semifinals of Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Friday after Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, her opponent, was forced to retire due to injury concerns.
Former world champion Sindhu, returning after a long injury layoff, took the first game 21-11 against reigning world champion and World No. 3 Yamaguchi before the Japanese shuttler, who was wearing a knee brace, decided that she could not play any further.
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The win took world no.18 Sindhu’s head-to-head record to 15-12 against Yamaguchi.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, who has reached the Malaysia Open semifinals after eight years, will next face either Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, the sixth seed, or second-seeded Chinese Wang Zhi Yi.
In men’s doubles, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost to Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, the sixth-seeded pair from Indonesia in the quarterfinal.
Satwik-Chirag struggled in the early stages, conceding the opening game 21-10. The Indian duo pulled it back in the second game, but was pipped to the line by the Indonesians 23-21.
Published on Jan 09, 2026
