Sindhu survives Akechi scare in 73-minute French Open 2026 semifinal, sets up final against An Se-young

FILE PHOTO: Sindhu has lost all of the 10 meetings against the current World No. 1 An Se-young. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

P. V. Sindhu beat Japan’s Hina Akechi in their first-ever meeting on the BWF Tour to enter the French Open 2026 final on Saturday.

Sindhu survived a scare and clinched a 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 win against the Japanese in a last-four clash which last for 73 minutes.

The Indian will meet her tormentor and double defending champion An Se-young of South Korea in the summit clash. Sindhu has lost all of the 10 meetings against the current World No. 1.

An, meanwhile, beat Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-12, 21-19 in 45 minutes to enter the final for a third consecutive edition.

On Court 1 at the Arena Grand in Paris, the 21-year-old Akechi kept close to the two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu. The opening exchanges saw heavy usage of cross-court shots from both the players. The Japanese especially stretched Sindhu with her precise forehand smashes around the court. This was partcularly visible when the racquet slipped from the Indian’s hand while trying to retrieve a smash, taking the score at 6-5 to the Japanese.

But both shuttlers traded points and kept the other on their toes. Sindhu, however, took a two-point lead at 11-9 at the mid-game interval after Akechi hit her forehand smash wide.

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On resumption, an on song Sindhu bagged four consecutive points before hitting a toss out. That would end up being the only point Akechi added to her first-game tally as the Indian clinched the lead in 18 minutes.

The second game saw Akechi employ a slightly different tactic: making Sindhu run. This helped the World No. 22 race to a four-point lead at 5-1. But Sindhu slowly showed her experience, dispatched a few fizzing cross-court winners to equalise. At the interval, the Japanese led by a single point.

Unlike the first game, the intensity from Akechi didn’t drop on resumption. She was enjoying a two-point advantage at 16-14 before Sindhu’s cross-court game helped the Indian draw level. But it was the Japanese who took the game point with a high dribble, before Sindhu’s tap to the other side brought the game to a tie-break. Akechi then took the 28-minute long second game and forced a decider.

Sindhu was clearly rattled by the Japanese shuttler, who is 10 years her junior, as she celebrated every point she won in the third game. The Indian led 11-9 at the break. But Akechi fought back and hacked down a five-point deficit to level at 14-14. However, Sindhu dug deep, bagged four game points, and converted on the first.

With this win, Sindhu has entered her second final of the year. The first was at the Japan Open in July, where she went on to win the title.