Indonesia Open: Familiar foe An Se Young once again proved too strong for PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu’s Indonesia Open campaign came to an end in the second round on Thursday as world number one An Se Young continued her dominance over the Indian with a straight games win in Jakarta.

An Se Young won 21-17, 21-15 in 43 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals and extend her flawless head-to-head against the two-time Olympic medalist to 10-0.

Coming into the competition 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 again proved to be too consistent and composed at key moments.

PV Sindhu vs An Se Young: Highlighting

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 most of the game, the Indian found her rhythm through aggressive net play and sharper stroke selection to eventually lead 15-14.

Just when Sindhu seemed ready to take control, An raised her level. The Korean won key points to regain the initiative before winning a grueling rally that epitomized the quality of the competition. From there, she kept her cool and closed out the game 21-17.

An carried that momentum into the second game and quickly gained control. Her court movement and ability to turn defense into attack repeatedly put Sindhu under pressure, helping her race to an 8-3 lead.

While Sindhu continued to battle, producing 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 make An work for every point, but the Korean never looked in danger of relinquishing her lead. She eventually sealed the second game 21-15 to complete another impressive win over one of her most storied opponents.

The result underlined An Se Young’s continued dominance in the rivalry as the Korean maintained her perfect record against Sindhu to book her place in the last 16 of the Super 1000 tournament.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

04 Jun 2026 09:50 IST