PV Sindhu storms into French Open semis to keep India's campaign alive

PV Sindhu continued her impressive run at the French Open 2026 with a vintage performance, securing a place in the women's singles semi-finals with a commanding straight-game victory over Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-chian on Friday.

The two-time Olympic medallist, currently ranked 11th in the world, needed just 39 minutes to defeat the world No. 17 by a scoreline of 21-13, 21-14 at the Arena Grand Paris. The result extended Sindhu's winning record against Chiu, whom she had also beaten at the Asian Games last month.

The Indian shuttler has now reached the semi-finals of four BWF World Tour events this year. Her previous last-four appearances came at the Malaysia Open in January and the Australian Open in June, before she went on to win the Japan Open title in



July.

Sindhu took control of Friday's contest from the outset. She established a six-point cushion to lead 11-5 at the interval in the opening game and maintained her advantage to move ahead in the match.

The second game proved equally one-sided, with Sindhu racing to a 7-0 lead and leaving her opponent with little room to recover. She comfortably closed out the match to book her place in the last four.

Sindhu will next take on either Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, a world championships bronze medallist, or Japan's Hina Akechi in Saturday's semi-final.

With her victory, Sindhu remains India's sole contender at the BWF Super 750 tournament. Ashmita Chaliha's campaign ended in the quarter-finals after she suffered a three-game defeat against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara.