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P.V. Sindhu lacked the consistency required to occupation satellite No. 1 An Se Young for sustained periods, going down successful the quarterfinals but ace men's doubles brace of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the semifinals with a hard-fought triumph astatine the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tourney successful Singapore connected Friday (May 29, 2026).
The two-time Olympic medallist showed flashes of her attacking champion and managed to enactment the Korean nether unit successful phases, but An's superior control, question and quality to triumph the important points ensured different comfy 21-17 21-14 triumph successful their lopsided rivalry.
The nonaccomplishment extended Sindhu's winless tally against the reigning Olympic champion to 9 matches. Across those meetings, the Indian has managed to instrumentality a crippled disconnected An lone once, astatine the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships.
Satwik and Chirag, the Asian Games champion and 4th seeds here, came from a crippled down to get the amended of Malaysia's Khai Xing Kang and Aaron Tai 19-21 21-17 21-13 successful a gruelling contention that lasted 1 hr and 5 minutes.
The Indian brace volition present beryllium up against apical seeds Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of Korea, who defeated seventh seeded Japanese operation of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-19 21-18.
Sindhu vs An Se Young
The situation was ever formidable for Sindhu against an hostile who has mislaid conscionable 1 lucifer this twelvemonth aft suffering lone 4 defeats successful the full of 2025, underlining the Korean's singular dominance connected the satellite circuit.
Sindhu looked intent connected taking the onslaught to An from the outset, utilizing her almighty smashes and aboriginal interceptions to dictate rallies whenever possible.
However, the Indian trailed 7-11 astatine the mid-game interval successful the opening crippled earlier clawing her mode backmost to 13-14 with a bid of assertive returns and attacking strokes.
While Sindhu's proactive attack helped her enactment successful contention, An's bid astatine the nett and quality to sorb unit allowed her to regain control. A assemblage smash and a round-the-head victor helped Sindhu constrictive the spread to 16-18 earlier she won the longest rally of the lucifer to marque it 17-19.
But an untimely wide changeable handed An 3 crippled points, and the Korean wrapped up the opener erstwhile Sindhu sent different instrumentality long.
The 2nd crippled began disastrously for Sindhu arsenic An stormed to a 6-0 lead. The Indian gradually recovered her rhythm, reducing the shortage to 6-8 with a smash winner, a agelong instrumentality from An and a net-touch responsibility by the Korean.
An soon restored her vantage and led 11-7 astatine the interruption aft producing a precise cross-court victor that near Sindhu stranded.
The Indian made an assertive commencement aft the interval and stayed wrong striking region astatine 11-14 earlier winning a gruelling 30-shot rally to adjacent the spread to 12-14.
However, a fewer unforced errors astatine important moments halted her momentum. As her attacking accuracy dipped, Sindhu slipped to 13-18 and struggled to incorporate An's relentless precision.
The Korean repeatedly moved Sindhu astir the tribunal with her deft placement and exceptional retrieval skills earlier earning 7 lucifer points. An converted connected her 2nd accidental erstwhile Sindhu's instrumentality sailed long, sealing her spot successful the semifinals aft a 48-minute contest.
