PV Sindhu enters Japan Open semi-finals after Okuhara withdraws
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Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the women's singles semi-finals of the Japan Open after former world champion Nozomi Okuhara withdrew ahead of their quarter-final match on Friday.
The result marks Sindhu's first appearance in the semi-finals of a Super 750 tournament since the Denmark Open in 2023.
The 2019 world champion has now reached her third semi-final of the season after earlier making the last four at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and the Australian Open Super 500.
Okuhara had also progressed to the quarter-finals following the withdrawal of South Korea's An Se-young, who pulled out of her pre-quarter-final with a left foot injury.
Sindhu will next face Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China, who defeated South Korea's Sim Yu Jin 21-10, 21-12 in the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Chen holds an 8-6 head-to-head record against world No. 12 Sindhu and has won their last four meetings, including a straight-games victory at this year's Indonesia Masters.
Sindhu's last win over Chen came in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Championships, where she went on to become India's first badminton world champion.