PV Sindhu’s Indonesia Open campaign came to an end in the second round on Thursday as world No. 1 An Se Young continued her dominance over the Indian with a straight-games victory in Jakarta.
An Se Young prevailed 21-17, 21-15 in 43 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals and extend her flawless head-to-head record against the two-time Olympic medallist to 10-0.
Coming into the contest on the back of a confidence-boosting opening-round win over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, Sindhu was hoping to finally break her duck against the Korean. However, An once again proved too consistent and composed in key moments.
PV Sindhu vs An Se Young: Highlights
The opening game was the more competitive of the two, with Sindhu recovering from an early deficit to challenge the top seed. After trailing for much of the game, the Indian found her rhythm through aggressive net play and sharper shot selection, eventually moving ahead 15-14.
Just as Sindhu appeared poised to seize control, An raised her level. The Korean reeled off crucial points to reclaim the initiative before winning a gruelling rally that epitomised the quality of the contest. From there, she maintained her composure to close out the game 21-17.
An carried that momentum into the second game and quickly established control. Her movement around the court and ability to turn defence into attack repeatedly put Sindhu under pressure, helping her race to an 8-3 lead.
While Sindhu continued to battle and produced flashes of her trademark power, including a thunderous smash late in the game, she was unable to mount a sustained comeback. An remained firmly in command, stretching her advantage to 13-6 before keeping the Indian at arm’s length during the closing stages.
Sindhu showed plenty of resilience to reduce the deficit and force An to work for every point, but the Korean never looked in danger of surrendering her lead. She eventually sealed the second game 21-15 to complete another impressive victory over one of her most familiar rivals.
The result underlined An Se Young’s continued supremacy in the rivalry, with the Korean maintaining her perfect record against Sindhu and booking her place in the last eight of the Super 1000 event.
– Ends
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