PV Sindhu Advances to Semifinals at Malaysia Open 2026

PV Sindhu has advanced to the semifinals of the Malaysia Open 2026 after her opponent Akane Yamaguchi retired due to injury. This follows Sindhu's impressive victory over Tomoka Miyazaki. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen faced an early exit after losing to Lee Cheuk Yiu. The focus now shifts to the men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as they prepare for their quarterfinal match. Read on for more details about the tournament's highlights.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jan 9, 2026, 12:40 IST

Sindhu's Semifinal Journey

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu has secured her place in the semifinals of the Malaysia Open 2026 after her opponent, third-seeded Akane Yamaguchi from Japan, retired due to injury following the first game, which Sindhu won 21-11. This victory comes just a day after Sindhu triumphed over eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki, as reported by ESPN.

With this win, Sindhu is set to compete against the victor of the match between China's Wang Zhiyi and Indonesia's PK Wardani, scheduled for later today.

Path to the Semifinals

Ranked 18th, PV Sindhu showcased her skills by defeating eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki to reach the quarterfinals of this prestigious Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 1000 event.

Earlier in the tournament, Sindhu overcame world No. 33 Sung Shuo-yun from Chinese Taipei with scores of 21-13 and 22-20, advancing smoothly to the second round.

She dominated her opening match, winning the first game 21-8 and maintaining her lead to finish the second game at 21-13.

Lakshya Sen's Exit

In contrast to Sindhu's success, India's Lakshya Sen faced elimination from the Malaysia Open after losing to Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu in the men's singles pre-quarterfinals at the Axiata Arena on Thursday.

Ranked 13th, Sen lost the match with scores of 22-20 and 21-15, taking 53 minutes to complete, according to Olympics.com.

Despite a strong start where he led 11-9 at the interval and had four game points in the first game, Sen could not maintain his advantage as Lee Cheuk Yiu scored six consecutive points to win the opener in a tie-break.

Sen was unable to recover in the second game, marking his third defeat in five encounters against Lee Cheuk Yiu.

Focus on Men's Doubles

Attention now shifts to India's men's doubles team, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are set to compete against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in the men's doubles quarterfinals.