(Reporter Kim Hyun-ki, Xports News) There is still a long way to go.
Tomoka Miyazaki, known as the future of Japanese badminton women’s singles, was consistently pushed back, unlike a seeded player, and ended up slipping in the round of 16.
He was completely defeated by Indian badminton’s ‘living legend’ Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, who won two Olympic medals.
Miyazaki lost to Sindhu with a game score of 0-2 (8-21 13-21) in the women’s singles round of 16 of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Malaysia Open (Super 1000) held at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 8th (Korean time). Miyazaki was so far behind that the game lasted only 33 minutes.
On this day, the Japanese media ‘Nitele News’ commented, “Miyazaki collapsed after losing the lead in the first game,” and added, “He tried to fight patiently in the second game, but it was not enough.”
Miyazaki is a 19-year-old prospect who is expected to succeed Akane Yamaguchi (3rd place), the women’s singles champion at last year’s World Championships. He received serious attention when he won the World Junior Championships held in Santander, Spain in 2022. At the end of 2024, he won the All-Japan Championship as a high school student and was considered a candidate to compete against Korea’s Ahn Se-young at the 2028 LA Olympics.
At the end of last year, he secured 9th place in the world rankings and showed off his spirit by advancing to the BWF World Tour Finals, which is a battle of kings at the end of the year. She is gaining popularity as a ‘badminton goddess’ and a ‘badminton idol’ not only in Japan but also in Korea.
In the first match of the Malaysian Open, Miyazaki faced Korea’s Shim Yu-jin (ranked 10th in the world) and trailed by a wide margin in the first game, but then caught up and won 21-19. After that, Shim Yu-jin withdrew due to injury in the early part of the second game, reducing her stamina consumption and advancing to the second round.
However, the jinx of not being able to use one’s strength when facing experienced players was revealed again.
31-year-old Sindhu’s world ranking recently dropped to 18th due to injury, but she is the protagonist who raised India from a badminton wasteland to the current dark horse by winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (actually held in 2021). Against Miyazaki, he won easily with strong defense and smashes at the right time.
This was a game in which Miyazaki once again realized that improvements were needed in both offense and game management in order to become a strong women’s singles player in the future.
Miyazaki faced world No. 1 Ahn Se-young six times and lost all of them.
Photo = Yonhap News / BWF website
Reporter Kim Hyun-ki [email protected]
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