Oct 2026 : India’s two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has said she must deliver her best performance on every point when competing against top-ranked players after finishing runner-up at the BWF French Open on Sunday. Sindhu lost to South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se Young in the women’s singles final at the Arena Grand Paris.
The Indian shuttler went down 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 in a contest lasting 61 minutes. Sindhu made an impressive start, winning the opening game 21-16, but An Se Young raised her level in the next two games to secure the title. The victory denied Sindhu the opportunity to become the first Indian woman since Aparna Popat in 1998 to win the French Open crown.
The result also extended An Se Young’s unbeaten head-to-head record against Sindhu to 11-0.
Reflecting on the final, Sindhu said matches against elite players demand complete focus, consistency and the ability to fight for every point.
“When you’re playing with the top athletes, you have to be at 100% every single point. I know it’s not going to be easy, and you have to fight for every point. That’s what we were doing,” Sindhu said.
The Indian acknowledged the challenge of maintaining her intensity against a player of An Se Young’s calibre. She said the experience would offer valuable lessons as she works to improve her performances in upcoming tournaments.
Despite the loss, Sindhu expressed satisfaction with her recent progress and said she was determined to improve further.
“I’m absolutely looking forward to much better badminton from me. I’m happy with this, but I think there’s a lot of space, a lot of room still there. So I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
The runner-up finish marked Sindhu’s second final at a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament this season.
Sindhu won the Japan Open in July, defeating Japan’s three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the final. The victory secured her first BWF title since December 2024 and demonstrated her ability to compete successfully against leading players.
Ranked world No. 11, Sindhu reached her maiden French Open final after defeating Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in the semifinals. Her campaign also included a hard-fought opening-round victory over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, followed by straight-game wins against Japan’s Riko Gunji and Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian.
Meanwhile, An Se Young continued her remarkable 2026 campaign with another title. The reigning Olympic champion entered the final with an impressive 65-1 win-loss record for the year and extended her winning streak to 50 matches with Sunday’s victory.
Sindhu’s performance also contributed to a notable milestone for Indian badminton. Her French Open campaign marked the 10th time an Indian entry had reached a BWF World Tour final at a Super 300 or higher-level tournament outside India this season, surpassing the previous record of nine finals set in 2023.
Although Sindhu fell short of the title in Paris, her run to the final underlined her continued presence among the leading contenders in international women’s badminton. She will now look to build on her recent performances and sharpen her game ahead of the upcoming tournaments.
