Shenzhen, September 19 (HS): Indian badminton star PV Sindhu faced another setback in her ongoing struggle against world number one An Se Young of South Korea, going down in straight games 14-21, 13-21 in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 tournament on Friday. The match lasted just 38 minutes, extending Sindhu’s winless head-to-head record against the Korean to eight matches.

Sindhu started poorly, falling behind 1-6 early in the first game. Although she narrowed the gap to 5-9 with some delicate cross-court play, An Se Young pulled away to a commanding 11-5 lead by the interval. Despite Sindhu closing the margin to 11-14, unforced errors contributed to her losing the opener.

In the second game, Sindhu briefly led 3-2, but An quickly regained dominance. The Korean’s powerful smashes and deceptive shots helped her extend a lead of 11-7 at the break to 14-7 after resumption. Sindhu fought hard, employing some clever front-court drops and smashes, but An maintained control, securing victory with a cross-court smash on match point as Sindhu faltered again.

This defeat marks a continuation of Sindhu’s challenges against An Se Young, against whom she has yet to register a single win, highlighting a significant hurdle as she aims to climb back among badminton’s elite. Meanwhile, An Se Young advances to the semifinals, where she is set to meet the winner of the quarterfinal clash between Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and Indonesia’s Putri Wardani.

—————

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar