Wanted to win badly, PV Sindhu says after stunning world No 6 at China Open

Dubai: India's PV Sindhu stunned world No 6 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 21-15, 8-21, 21-17 in the opening round of the China Open 2025 badminton tournament.

The 30-year-old has been enduring a tough season on the BWF World Tour this year so far and was desperately looking for a win.

The two-time Olympic medallist said that the win will help her boost her confidence that allowed her to enter the Women’s Singles Round-of-16 at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou on Wednesday.

“It was a much-awaited win for me,” Sindhu told BWF. “In the third set, it was important for me to take the lead from the beginning. Because, you know, one side was very disadvantaged and one side was an advantage. So, it started off really good, but in the second game, it was hard for me to control. And in the third game, it was important that I take the lead and maintain that, because you never know anything is going to happen,” she added.

Speaking about her teenaged opponent, who has sharply risen through the ranks in the last year or so, Sindhu said: “She’s doing well and she’s been doing well for quite some time now. It was important for me to win these matches so that it will also give me a morale boost and also that confidence. Sometimes I’ve been going three games, I’ve been coming close, yet I’ve been losing. So, I think it was a good win for me and I need to continue this tempo and keep going. But, yeah, she’s good, she’s doing well. Even though she’s young, she’s doing well and she’s in the top at the moment.”

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Asked what satisfied her most about her performance, Sindhu said: “I was positive from the beginning. And at the same time, I think I just kept going and I’ve been very patient enough to, you know, keep the shuttle in the court and made fewer errors. I think that’s what I’m satisfied about.”