Ashmita Chaliha stunned world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi to reach the French Open quarter-finals.

Later in the day, PV Sindhu booked her place in the last-eight round of the Super 750 tournament.Ashmita Chaliha stunned Akane Yamaguchi in French Open (Courtesy: Poona District Metropolitan Badminton Association/Instagram) Ashmita Chaliha produced the standout performance of the day, upsetting world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi to join double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu in the women's singles quarter-finals of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Thursday.The unseeded Indian defeated Japan's third seed 21-19, 21-18 in 37 minutes, securing one of the biggest wins of her career and her first against a top-five opponent.\Sindhu followed it up with a composed 21-12, 21-16 win over Japan's Riko Gunji in a match lasting 44 minutes.Ashmita's triumph carried significance beyond her progression at the Super 750 tournament.

It was the first time in more than four years that an Indian women's singles shuttler had beaten a player ranked in the world's top two. The previous instance was in May 2022, when Sindhu defeated Yamaguchi at the Thailand Open.

The result also marked a rare double for Indian women's singles badminton. For the first time since 2019, two Indian players have reached the quarter-finals of a Super 750 tournament.

Saina Nehwal and Sindhu had achieved the feat at the French Open that year, when both advanced to the last eight.For Ashmita, the victory adds another landmark to what has been a breakthrough year on the international circuit. The 26-year-old from Assam claimed her maiden BWF World Tour title at the Korea Masters Super 300 in August, defeating China's Han Qian Xi 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in the final. #FrenchOpen2026 Ashmita Chaliha defeats Akane Yamaguchi!

Wow. I am quite sure that would go down as the biggest match win of Ashmita's career.

In fact, the first time she has beaten a top-5 player as she takes down the newly promoted world No 2 Yamaguchi in straight games. It is difficult to make out from this video stream, but it is fairly evident Ashmita is emotional at the end there.

Clearly means a lot to her as she registers another strong result in a year where she seems to have found the belief again. Akane quite possibly spent from last week's absolute marathon final against An Seyoung (and even ASY looked like she was feeling the pace against Tanvi at times today because that is how gruelling that Sunday final in Denmark was).

But take nothing away from Ashmita, who will be, should be, absolutely delighted with this result.— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) October 22, 2026That triumph followed a testing period in her career, with a knee injury suffered in Korea in 2024 threatening to derail her progress. Her return to form has since gathered momentum, with encouraging performances across the tour.The win over Yamaguchi is another indication of that progress.

Against one of the world's leading players, Ashmita held her nerve to close out a straight-game victory and secure a place in the last eight of a prestigious tournament.Sindhu, meanwhile, continued her campaign with a straight-game win over Gunji. The former world champion had endured a gruelling opening-round contest against Thailand's Supanida Katethong, eventually prevailing 21-14, 8-21, 23-21.

She was more assured against Gunji, controlling the match to set up a quarter-final appearance alongside her compatriot.Earlier, India's other two singles players had contrasting fortunes. Tanvi Sharma went down 11-21, 14-21 to world No.

1 and top seed An Se Young of South Korea in 37 minutes. Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, retired from his men's singles second-round match against Japan's sixth seed Kodai Naraoka while trailing 17-21, 6-11, with an undisclosed injury.- Ends