PV Sindhu advances to Arctic Open quarters and will meet Ratchanok Intanon

PV Sindhu beat Japan's Riko Gunji 21-15, 21-15 to reach the quarter-finals of the Arctic Open Super 500 in Finland on Thursday, October 8, 2026. The 31-year-old required 49 minutes to complete the straight-games win.

Sindhu, seeded No.6, defeated the 24-year-old Gunji—ranked 21st in the world—using jump smashes and precise cross-court drops and took the opening game comfortably. She fell behind 11-13 in the second game before winning 10 of the next 13 points to close out the match. The performance featured repeated line-finding shots and aggressive net play.

Sindhu will face Ratchanok Intanon in the quarter-finals; Intanon is the world No.5 and the top seed in Finland after defeating India's Tanvi Sharma 21-18, 21-7 to reach the last eight. The two players have met 13 times on the BWF Tour, with Intanon winning nine of those meetings and their most recent Tour encounter coming in 2022. They have remained close off court and have often exchanged words of encouragement.

For India there was mixed news elsewhere: Tharun Mannepalli suffered a 21-14, 21-19 defeat to second seed Christo Popov of France, and former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth bowed out in the opening round, losing 21-15, 15-21, 13-21 to Canada's Brian Yang. Tanvi Sharma's loss to Intanon was the other Indian exit from the draw reported.

"No.6 seed Pusarla V. Sindhu faces off against Riko Gunji . #BWFWorldTour #ArcticOpen2026 https://t.co/LDlqCVCO3S— BWF (@bwfmedia) October 8, 2026"

A much tougher test now awaits the Japan Open champion as she prepares for the quarter-final against the top seed. With both players eyeing a deep run in Finland, the meeting could prove decisive for momentum in the tournament.

Sindhu's next match is the Arctic Open quarter-final against Ratchanok Intanon.