Sydney, June 13 (IANS) PV Sindhu’s search for a first title-round appearance of the 2026 season remains unfinished after the Indian star suffered a straight-games defeat to reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s singles semifinals of the Australian Badminton Open on Saturday.

The former world champion pushed the Japanese third seed hard in a fiercely contested opening game before Yamaguchi seized control to register a 22-20, 21-12 victory in 43 minutes and book her place in the final of the BWF Super 500 tournament.

For Sindhu, ranked No. 10 in the world, it marked another near miss in a season that has shown flashes of promise. The Australian Open was her second semifinal appearance on the BWF World Tour this year after a last-four finish at the Malaysia Open in January.

The opening game delivered the contest many had anticipated. Sindhu dictated several early exchanges and carried a slender advantage into the mid-game interval. However, Yamaguchi responded with a burst of six consecutive points to swing momentum in her favour.

The Indian battled back impressively, erasing the deficit and forcing a tense finish. She saved one game point at 20-19, but the Japanese shuttler held her nerve to edge ahead and claim the crucial opener.

Any hopes of a comeback were dented in the second game when Yamaguchi reeled off seven unanswered points to turn a tight contest into a one-sided affair. From there, the world No. 3 maintained complete control, extending her dominance in the rivalry with a 14th victory over Sindhu in 29 career meetings.

The defeat also brought India’s campaign in Sydney to a close. Earlier, the men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan had exited in the quarterfinals after retiring midway through their match against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Liu Kuang-Heng, while India’s men’s singles contingent failed to progress beyond the opening round.

Indian shuttlers will now shift their focus to the Macau Open Super 300 tournament beginning next week.

–IANS

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