Sydney, June 13 -- India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu's quest for her first major title in the ongoing 2026 season continued as she went down to reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2026 in Sydney on Saturday.

The world No. 10 lost 22-20, 21-12 to world No. 3 Yamaguchi in a 43-minute clash in the BWF Super 500 tournament, according to Olympics.com

This was Sindhu's second semi-final finish on the 2026 BWF World Tour. Earlier, she had reached the last four at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 in January, where she was defeated by China's Wang Zhiyi.

The two-time Olympic medallist's most recent title on the BWF circuit came at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow in 2024.

In a closely fought opening...