India’s star shuttler P. V. Sindhu’s woes against world number one An Se Young showed no signs of easing, as she suffered a straight-game defeat in the quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament in Shenzhen on Friday.
The two-time Olympic medallist was outplayed by the reigning Olympic champion, going down 14-21, 13-21 in just 38 minutes. This loss marked Sindhu’s eighth consecutive defeat to the 23-year-old Korean, who remains unbeaten against the Indian in their head-to-head meetings.
Sindhu never really found her footing in the match, starting the first game sluggishly. She quickly fell behind 1-6, before momentarily closing the gap to 5-9 with a precise cross-court drop. But An Se Young’s sharp smashes and court coverage pushed her ahead to an 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval.
Sindhu showed some resistance post the break, reducing the deficit to 11-14, but An remained composed. The game slipped further out of reach as Sindhu committed an unforced error at the net to hand An the opener.
In the second game, Sindhu briefly led 3-2 and looked to change her rhythm with more aggressive play. However, her lead was short-lived as An quickly took back control with her signature deception and precision. The Korean went into the interval 11-7 ahead and then extended the lead to 14-7 with ease.
Sindhu did try to mount a comeback, landing a few impressive front-court drops and round-the-head smashes. But An Se Young was relentless, always one step ahead. The Korean earned eight match points with a powerful cross-court smash and sealed the match as Sindhu once again found the net on the final point.
The loss brings an early end to Sindhu’s China Masters campaign and further highlights the growing gap between her and the top-ranked Korean, who has consistently dominated their matchups.
As Sindhu continues her search for form in the build-up to future tournaments, questions linger about her ability to overcome top-tier opponents like An Se Young. For now, the wait for her first win against the Korean continues.
