India's star shuttler PV Sindhu got knocked out of the Singapore Open Super 750 after enduring a quarterfinal loss to world No. 1 An Se Young on Friday, May 29. The two-time Olympic medalist struggled to maintain her consistency to challenge the top-ranked South Korean, marking an end of her campaign.
The star shuttler had some moments of brilliance, where she troubled the opponent, but An Se Young managed to maintain her composure in crucial moments, exceptional shot-making turned out to be decisive. An eventually secured a straight-games win, 21-17, 21-14, further extending a strong record over the Indian.
This loss marked Sindhu's ninth straight loss to the reigning Olympic champion. During that period of time, the Indian shuttler managed to win just a single game against An Se Young, which came at the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships.
Sindhu's attacking approach
Although Sindhu's attacking intent kept her within touching distance, An Se Young's defensive resilience swung the momentum in her favor. Sindhu tried to fight back with a strong body smash and a crisp round-the-head winner to reduce the gap to 16-18, before having the longest rally of the clash to close in further at 17-19.
However, a misplaced shot at a key moment gifted An Se Young three points. The world No.1 then grabbed the chance, securing the opening game after Sindhu's next return sailed beyond the baseline.
Sindhu's bad luck in the second game
Sindhu endured a difficult start to the second game as An Se Young raced to a 6-0 lead. The Indian gradually settled into the contest, cutting the deficit to 6-8 through a combination of aggressive shot-making and errors from her opponent. However, An quickly regained control and carried an 11-7 advantage into the mid-game interval after producing a superb cross-court winner.
Sindhu reacted with positive intent after the break, staying within the chase and then winning a long 30-shot rally to make it to 12-14. Despite her resilient efforts, a series of unforced errors derailed her comeback, and as her attacking precision began to fade, An pulled away to 18-13 before comfortably closing out the game.