Sindhu reaches Malaysia Open semifinals as Yamaguchi retires

P.V. Sindhu advanced to the Malaysia Open Super 1000 semifinals after Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi retired injured mid-match. The former world champion, returning from a long layoff, reached her first Malaysia Open semifinal in eight years.

Hyderabad: Former World champion P.V. Sindhu moved into the semifinal of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton championship when her opponent Jaan’s Akane Yamaguchi retired due to injury concerns in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Sindhu, returning after a long injury layoff, won the first game 21-11 against reigning world champion Yamaguchi before the latter decided to quit the contest.

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Incidentally, this is Sindhu’s first semifinal appearance in Malaysian Open after eight years, will take on either Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, the sixth seed, or second-seeded Chinese Wang Zhi Yi.