Sindhu stuns World No 5 Han Yue to reach Japan Open quarters

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu delivered one of her finest performances of the season, defeating world No 5 Han Yue of China in straight games to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open Super 750 on Thursday.

The world No 10 Indian needed just 35 minutes to secure a convincing 21-16, 21-14 victory over the higher-ranked Chinese shuttler in their second-round encounter.

After a slow start, Sindhu found her rhythm midway through the opening game, striking with greater precision and taking control of the rallies to move ahead. The former world champion carried that momentum into the second game, surging to an 8-0 lead before comfortably wrapping up the contest.

It is Sindhu’s sixth quarter-final appearance of the season, having previously reached the last eight at the Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore Opens. She also advanced to the semi-finals at the Malaysia and Australia Opens.

The 31-year-old will next face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, who progressed after top seed An Se-young of South Korea withdrew from their second-round match.

Sindhu is now India’s only remaining contender in the tournament after the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila exited in the pre-quarter-finals.

The Indian duo put up a spirited fight but went down 20-22, 17-21 to China’s top-seeded pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in a 47-minute round-of-16 clash.