Shenzhen: Indian star shuttler P V Sindhu’s struggles against world No. 1 An Se Young continued as she suffered a straight-game defeat in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 on Friday.
The two-time Olympic medallist went down 14-21, 13-21 in 38 minutes against the 23-year-old Korean, the Paris Games gold medallist. This marked Sindhu’s eighth consecutive loss to An, against whom she has yet to register a win.
Sindhu got off to a slow start, falling behind 1-6 before reducing the deficit to 5-9 with a delicate cross-court drop. But An’s powerful smashes quickly restored her advantage, taking an 11-5 lead at the interval. Sindhu fought back to 11-14, yet An closed out the opener when the Indian hit one into the net.
In the second game, Sindhu briefly led 3-2, but An soon regained control. Despite Sindhu’s attacking efforts, she trailed 7-8 before An extended her lead to 11-7 at the break with her superior deception and shot variety.
After the interval, An surged ahead to 14-7 and never looked back. Sindhu produced some fine front-court drops and round-the-head smashes to claim a few points, but the Korean remained consistently a step ahead.
An sealed the match with a cross-court smash after Sindhu gave away the final point, securing her place in the semifinals with eight match points.
