PV Sindhu qualifies for BWF World Tour Finals for first time since 2021

PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu has qualified for the BWF World Tour Finals, the Badminton World Federation confirmed on Wednesday. The season-ending tournament will be held in Hangzhou, China, from December 9 to 13.This will be the 31-year-old Indian's sixth appearance at the event and her first since 2021. She had qualified for the 2022 edition but withdrew due to an injury.Sindhu's recent victory at the Hylo Open in Germany played a key role in securing her place. The Super 500 title earned her 9,200 ranking points, lifting her two places to sixth in the latest BWF World Rankings.She has won two BWF World Tour titles this season, having also claimed the Japan Open Super 750 in July.

That was her first individual title since December 2024 and took her overall tally of World Tour titles to seven. This is the first season since 2022 in which Sindhu has won multiple titles on the tour.The Indian had also reached the final of the French Open before winning the Hylo Open, but lost to world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea, the reigning Olympic and world champion.

An Se-young, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, China's Wang Zhi Yi and Chen Yu Fei are the other players to have secured their places in the women's singles draw.

Sindhu is likely to compete next at the Syed Modi International, which begins in Lucknow on November 24.She remains the only Indian to have won the women's singles title at the BWF World Tour Finals, having defeated Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the 2018 final. Sindhu will now return to the season-ending event for the first time in four years.