Badminton
Sindhu falls short against old nemesis An Se-young as India’s singles campaign winds up
PV Sindhu’s woes against Korean An Se-young continued as the Indian shuttler suffered her 10th consecutive lost to the World No.1 and thereby ending India’s singles campaign at the Indonesia Open 2026 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Thursday.
Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun kept India’s campaign at the BWF Super 1000 event alive by advancing into the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, lost to Paris 2024 champion and world No. 1 An Se-young of the Republic of Korea by a 21-17, 21-15 scoreline in her women’s singles round of 16 match that lasted 44 minutes. This was the Indian badminton player’s 10th straight defeat against An Se-young.
Ayush Shetty and Rohan-Ruthvika progress to pre-quarterfinals of Indonesia Open
The opening game witnessed a close battle between the two badminton players. An Se-young had the upper hand, but Sindhu repeatedly fought her way back into the contest.
Sindhu first levelled the score at 4-4, then again at 7-7 and 10-10. Despite trailing 13-10 at one stage, Sindhu once more recovered and finally took the lead at 15-14. However, An Se-young shifted gears with a burst of four unanswered points and clinched the first game.
Interestingly, the two players had also faced each other at the Singapore Open last week, where Sindhu also went down in straight games. Remarkably, An Se-young has lost only one of the 36 matches she has played this year. Pics: Badminton Photo
The second game was one-sided. An Se-young dominated from the start and entered the mid-game interval with an 11-3 lead before extending it further to 15-6. Sindhu did attempt a comeback and narrowed the gap to 20-15, but the deficit proved too large as An Se-young sealed the match in straight games.
Interestingly, the two players had also faced each other at the Singapore Open last week, where Sindhu also went down in straight games. Remarkably, An Se-young has lost only one of the 36 matches she has played this year.
Elsewhere, India’s challenge in the men’s singles ended after Ayush Shetty lost to Hong Kong China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 in the round of 16.
Hariharan-Arjun stay alive
In the men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun beat Malaysia’s Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing 16-21, 21-15, 21-19 after coming from behind.
The Indian pair had opened their campaign with an impressive victory over Malaysia’s Tan Wee Kiong, a Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist, and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub.
Meanwhile, India’s mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde will face fourth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France later on Thursday.
Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde had earlier upset the higher-ranked Chinese Taipei combination of Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang in the opening round.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty retired midway through their men’s doubles opening-round match on Wednesday after Satwik injured his right shoulder.
World Championship men’s singles medallists Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy bowed out in the first round.