PARIS: India’s Ashmita Chaliha earned an upset win over third seed Akane Yamaguchi in the round of 16 at the French Open 2026 on Thursday. The 27-year-old Assam-girl beat her more-heralded opponent 21-19, 21-18 in 37 minutes to move to the quarterfinal of the women’s singles.
With the win, Ashmita tied the head-to-head with the Japanese badminton star at 1-1. She suffered an 18-21, 10-21 loss to Yamaguchi in the round of 16 at the Denmark Open earlier in this month. After a tight opening to the opening Game, Ashmita reeled in four points in a row to open up a 14-9 gap. Despite Yamaguchi fighting back to make it 18-18, the Indian shuttler kept her nerve to win the final two points and take a 1-0 lead.
She had it a little easier in Game 2, opening up a 13-7 lead. The World No.2 managed to reduce the deficit once again but could not prevent the Indian from earning a stunning straight-game victory.
P. V. Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Japan’s Riko Gunji 21-12, 21-16 at the Arena Grand.
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