The Shuttle Drop: Sindhu finds form at right time & King Kento returns

V Sindhu has returned to major-title territory at precisely the right moment. She beat Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 to win the Japan Open, ending a four-year wait for a title at Super 500 level or above and putting herself firmly back into the World Championships conversation ahead of New Delhi next month.

Elsewhere in Tokyo, Christo Popov collected his third title of the year, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri finally converted another final into a trophy, and Kong Hee Yong marked her return from knee surgery by winning a remarkable women’s doubles final, 30-29 in the deciding game.

Away from the World Tour, Kento Momota also returned to a podium in Shanghai, winning an unusual open tournament played across two different scoring formats.

The significance of Sindhu’s victory was not simply that she won. It was how convincing she looked while doing it.

Against Yamaguchi, she was prepared to stay in the longer exchanges without abandoning her attacking game. A 44-shot rally early in the second game captured the balance: Sindhu defended patiently, maintained her depth and waited for a genuine opportunity to take control. Yamaguchi later acknowledged that Sindhu’s speed, aggression and strength in attack had been too much.

There were encouraging tactical details throughout the week. Sindhu repeatedly targeted the backhand rear corner, stretched opponents across the long diagonal and showed greater variety around the forecourt. Crucially, she also looked fit enough to sustain the pressure rather than relying on occasional attacking bursts.

One tournament does not erase several uneven seasons, but it changes the discussion. The World Championships begin in India on 17 August, and Sindhu will arrive as more than a decorated former champion. She now has recent evidence that she can beat elite opposition and finish a major week.

Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri began playing together at last year’s Japan Open because their regular partners were unavailable. The arrangement was intended to be temporary. A week later, they won the China Open Super 1000 and made the partnership difficult to undo.

The year since brought five more World Tour finals and a rise to world No.2, but also an increasingly uncomfortable statistic: they lost every one of those finals.

Tokyo finally ended the sequence. Fajar and Fikri beat the only pair above them in the rankings, Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae, 21-19, 21-17. It was a controlled performance against opponents who dominated much of 2025 but have now gone three tournaments without a title.

The pairing remains unusual because both players have traditionally been associated with the front court. Its success shows that doubles roles do not have to remain fixed when the rotation is clear and both players are willing to adapt. One year after an accidental beginning, they are now among the established pairs to beat.

Kong Hee Yong’s first tournament after knee surgery ended with a title, although that barely captures what happened in the final.

Kong and Kim Hye Jeong defeated Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 14-21, 21-15, 30-29 after 99 minutes. Both pairs held six match points in the deciding game, yet the closing exchanges were notable less for panic than for their quality. The serves remained brave, the attacks committed and the defensive work remarkably composed.

Kim’s serve at 29-all was especially important. At a stage when even a slight hesitation can decide everything, she delivered without handing the Chinese pair an immediate attacking opportunity.

Kong had not competed since February and admitted she had not expected to reach the final following surgery. Returning safely would have represented progress. Returning with a Super 750 title has immediately changed the outlook for the partnership.

Christo Popov’s 21-11, 21-19 victory over Koki Watanabe gave him a third title of the season and further evidence that his rise is becoming more consistent.

The final was largely decided by sharpness. Watanabe had spent considerably longer on court in his semi-final, while Popov arrived fresher and controlled the opening game before surviving a much closer second. At 19-all, he took the final two points without allowing the home player another opening.

France has now placed a men’s singles player in the Japan Open final for three consecutive editions, following Alex Lanier’s appearances in the previous two. That reflects a genuine level of French depth rather than one player enjoying an isolated run.

Popov has made his World Championships ambition clear: he wants a medal. The field in New Delhi will be deeper and the pressure greater, but his form makes the target increasingly reasonable.

Her movement looks stronger, the attack more sustainable and the belief visibly renewed. The question is whether she can preserve that level through the final month before a home World Championships.

They had already proved they could reach finals. Tokyo showed they can close one against the best pair in the world, removing the most obvious doubt around an otherwise excellent first year.

Winning immediately after Kong’s five-month absence and knee surgery was exceptional. Managing her recovery remains important, but the partnership has resumed at a remarkably high level.

Kento Momota’s victory at the YONEX Shanghai Open slipped beneath the noise of the Japan Open, partly because it was not a BWF World Tour event. The two-day competition combined an open-entry tournament with invited names including Momota, He Bing Jiao and several former Chinese national-team players.

Momota came from behind to beat Ren Chengming 8-15, 15-13, 15-7 in the men’s singles final. The tournament used an unusual hybrid format: matches before the semi-finals consisted of one game to 31, while the semi-finals and finals were played as the best of three games to 15, with extension capped at 21.

That gave the early rounds a sprint-like quality, with little opportunity to recover from a poor spell, before the later stages shifted towards the 3x15 format badminton will adopt internationally in 2027. Momota, now retired from the international circuit and increasingly visible as a coach, showed that his control and ability to adjust the pace of a match remain largely intact.

Coming to the final is one thing, but to win and stand on the podium getting that gold is a different thing altogether - PV Sindhu

I didn’t think I could reach the final after my surgery - Kong Hee Yong

I want a medal. That’s my goal - Christo Popov

Sindhu did not simply overpower opponents in Tokyo. She first moved them across the longest distances, often targeting the backhand rear corner before switching towards the opposite side.

That movement weakened the recovery and created shorter replies, allowing her to attack from better positions. The occasional reverse slice then added disguise once opponents began expecting another hard, deep shot.

When watching Sindhu, look at the two strokes before the winner. The improvement was not only that she hit harder, but that she created better opportunities to do so.

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