Birmingham (England): Indian shuttler PV Sindhu was eliminated from the second round of the All England Open Badminton Championship on Thursday. World No.1 An Se Young outplayed the Indian star by 19-21, 11-21 and entered the round of 16 at Birmingham's Utilita Arena.
Coming into the contest, the South Korean badminton player was undefeated against the Indian badminton player. She maintained her spotless record against Sindhu by displaying superior gameplay.
Sindhu made too many unforced errors before the first break in the first set and the scoreline was 11-8 in the favour of the opponent. Sindhu then bettered her gameplay and made a comeback by reducing the points difference to 16-17. However, a misjudgement from Sindhu to judge a return from her opponent made her lose the first set by 19-21.
After losing the first set, Sindhu never looked in control of things. The South Korean opponent dominated the proceedings after that and won the second set 11-21 to knock the shuttler out of the coveted tournament.
After a dismal showing in the 2023 season, Sindhu returned to form at the recent French Open before crashing out from the quarter-final round. She beat Germany's Yvonne Li in the round of 32 but was always second favourite in the matchup against An Se Young.
India’s title hopes now rely on the shoulders of Lakshya Sen, who has a tough challenge ahead in the form of Anders Antonsen, whom he will face in the round of 16.
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