Jakarta: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered a second successive defeat to world No. 1 An Se Young in as many weeks to bow out of the Indonesia Open here on Thursday.
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Sindhu, who had also lost to the South Korean in the quarterfinals of last week's Singapore Open, showed spark but only in patches to go down 17-21, 14-21 in the round of 16 clash.
The defeat extended Sindhu's losing streak against the reigning Olympic champion to 10 matches. The Indian is yet to register a win over An.
The contest began on an even footing, with the scores locked at 10-10 midway through the opening game as Sindhu showcased glimpses of her best form and managed to put the Korean under pressure at times.
'Kept His Promise': Lalit Modi Tracks Down Delhi Kid Who Was Denied Virat Kohli's Autograph, Sends Signed Bat | VIDEOShe briefly edged ahead at 15-14 with some aggressive strokeplay, but An responded in trademark fashion, reeling off a series of points to take a 19-16 lead.
The Korean then won two consecutive points, including a gruelling 41-shot rally, to seal the opening game.
An carried that momentum into the second game, moving smoothly around the court and racing to a 13-6 lead.
Despite finding herself on the back foot, Sindhu continued to fight for every point and narrowed the gap on a few occasions.
However, An's consistency and court coverage proved decisive as she closed out the match to advance to the quarterfinals.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
