New Delhi: Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu’s poor run against world no.1 An Se Young continued as she suffered a straight-game loss against the Korean opponent in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament in Shenzhen on Friday, September 19.
Sindhu went down 14-21, 13-21 in 38 38-minute match against the 23-year-old Korean, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. It was Sindhu’s eighth consecutive defeat against An as the two-time Olympic medallist is yet to record a single win.
Sindhu began the match poorly and trailed 1-6 before narrowing down the lead to 5-9 with a delicate cross-court drop. However, An played well and used her trademark smashes to open up an 11-5 lead at the interval. The Indian shuttler managed to close the lead again at 11-14, but the Korean maintained her grip and won the opening when the Indian buried one into the net.
In the second game, Sindhu took an early 3-2 lead, but the Korean soon regained control of the match. The Indian tried to attack and trailed 7-8, but the world no. 1’s exceptional skill and variety helped her go into the break 11-7 ahead.
After the break, An took a 14-7 lead and never looked back. Sindhu managed to get a few points with some fine front-court drops and round-the-head smashes, but the Korean was always a step ahead. She grabbed eight match points with a cross-court smash and sealed it when Sindhu made an error again.
(more to follow)