Sindhu bows out of China Masters after suffering eighth successive loss to An Se Young

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s struggles against World No.1 An Se Young continued on Friday, as the Indian suffered her eighth straight defeat to the South Korean. Sindhu went down tamely in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750, losing in straight games 14-21, 13-21 during the 38-minute face-off in Shenzhen.

Sindhu was off to a sluggish start, slipping to 1-6 before settling into rhythm and cutting the deficit to 5-9. But An dictated the rallies, going into the interval with an 11-5 cushion. Sindhu clawed back to 11-14, yet the 23-year-old Korean stayed composed and closed out the opener after forcing an error from the Indian.

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The second game saw Sindhu briefly edge ahead at 3-2, only for An to quickly wrest back control. Despite Sindhu’s attempts to attack and reduce the margin to 7-8, the Korean’s sharp defence and shot variety gave her an 11-7 lead at the break. From there, An stretched her advantage to 14-7 and never let go.

Sindhu played some fine front-court drops and round-the-head smashes to gather a few points but the Korean was always a step ahead. She earned eight match points with a cross-court smash and sealed the contest when Sindhu faltered once more.