Suncheon (S Korea), April 9: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu’s challenge in the Korea Open badminton championships ended after suffering 14-21, 17-21 loss at the hands of local favourite An Seyoung in the semifinal here on Saturday. This was the Korean’s fourth straight win over two-time Olympic medallist as she extended her head-to-head record over Sindhu to 4-0.
The last time the two shuttlers met was in BWF World Tour Finals 2021 where Seyoung had denied the Indian ace a win in the summit clash. In the opening set, the Korean looked very confident as she won an easy first point at start of the proceedings and took 3-0 lead. She then made it to 7-1 with two full stretch saves in the 32-shot rally. The Indian ace pocketed three straight points but the Korean was not letting Sindhu find her rhythm and went into the break with a five-point lead, 11-6. The Seyoung has an array of shots in her kitty and was using them all against her opponent. Two long shots from Sindhu stretched up the lead to seven points.
The Indian got two points after taking long rallies but Seyoung was held 16-10 lead. Whenever Sindhu tried to shift momentum, Seyoung put a brake on it. A couple of long shots from Sindhu handed free points to Seyoung and she reached to the game point. The Indian saved two game points before Seyoung sent a strong smash to pocket the opener 21-14. In the second game, Sindhu had a different start as she took three quick points but a series of wide helped Seyoung to draw level. Seyoung held the lead but a smart play from Sindhu equalises 5-5. A close contest continued before the Korean head on to breather with 11-9 advantage. Seyoung raced to 13-9 after the interval, which Sindhu reduced to 14-16. However, the Korean was not ready to leave the pace and held four-point advantage that Sindhu retaliated with an array of shots. But it was the Korean who walked away with a win by taking the second game 21-17.
UNI
