It has been four years since Pusarla V Sindhu won a title at the upper end of the HSBC BWF World Tour. Her last Super 500 title was over four years ago — the Singapore Open in May 2022. And while there were Super 300 titles and the Commonwealth Games gold in 2022, her last major title had come seven years ago, at the BWF World Championships 2019.

The relief and joy at breaking this pattern was written all over her face as she revelled in the feeling of winning the DAIHATSU Japan Open 2026; the Super 750 triumph marking a high point in her career, and putting her back in the conversation as a contender at the upcoming BWF World Championships.

Facing home icon Akane Yamaguchi, the most successful winner here with four titles, Pusarla showed the willingness to trade with Yamaguchi on her own terms when needed. A 44-shot rally early in the second game was illustrative – the Indian chasing everything and wearing the Japanese down. There were some twists and turns the rest of the way, but Yamaguchi, having played two draining matches before the final, could not summon up the reserves as she typically does, and Pusarla was able to nail the match in straight games, 21-17 21-17.

“Very very happy, just out of words,” said Pusarla.

“It was 19 months since I won (Syed Modi International, Super 300), and this was very important for me, because coming to the final is one thing, but to win and stand on the podium getting that gold is a different thing altogether.

“You never know what will happen. Even though I was leading, I was making mistakes. So it was important for me to stay calm and focus on each point.

“It was important for me to stay positive all the time. With the top players you can’t take it easy. It was important to maintain the same aggressiveness. I couldn’t control my emptions at the end. There were some long rallies, and I won some of those big rallies, and that was important.”

Her vanquished opponent acknowledged she’d been outplayed.

“I am so upset,” said Yamaguchi. “I have no injury, but I was just little bit tired because I had long matches earlier, so I could not play fast. I tried to make points from my defense, but her attack was very good. My play wasn’t good enough today. Sindhu played very well, she was very aggressive, and her smash was strong.”

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