Ashmita Chaliha may have exited in the quarterfinals of the French Open 2026 badminton tournament, but the Indian will return home satisfied, having beaten three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the second round – her biggest victory in career.
Ranked 36th in women’s singles, the 27-year-old Indian stunned the world No. 2 21-19, 21-18 in just 37 minutes to secure a memorable win. Yamaguchi had finished runner-up at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi in 2026, losing to South Korea’s An Se Young in the final.
For Chaliha, it was a perfect revenge on Yamaguchi, after losing in straight games at the Denmark Open last week. The Indian, who claimed her maiden World Tour title at the Korea Masters Super 300 earlier this year, made a strong start in the opening game, building an 18-14 lead.
Yamaguchi fought back to level the opening game at 18-18. The Japanese shuttler continued to challenge the Indian, but with the score tied at 19-19, Chaliha held her nerve and maintained her composure to take the game.
The second game proved more comfortable for the Indian. After a closely contested opening, the players were level at 7-7 before Chaliha pulled away to maintain control and complete a remarkable victory in straight games. Chaliha’s relentless defensive play and consistent retrievals also put Yamaguchi under pressure, forcing her into several unforced errors.
For Chaliha, the plan was simple. Against Yamaguchi, who is never an easy individual to draw into an endless loop, the Indian engaged her opposition in long rallies and waited patiently for an opportunity to attack. The Assamese did well to stick to the strategy.
In fact, Yamaguchi had no answers to Chaliha’s detectable strokes like a racquet twirling drop to front court.
However, Chaliha couldn’t keep up with her form, and lost 10-21, 21-17, 16-21 to former world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Nozomi Okuhara of Japan. With Chaliha exiting, remained the lone Indian left in the tournament. She will take on Japan’s Hina Akechi next.
In the quarterfinals, former world champion Sindhu was in complete control and took 39 minutes to brush aside Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-chian 21-13, 21-14 for a place in the semifinals of the USD 950,000 tournament.
