Korea Open | Sindhu fails to decode An Seyoung, campaign ends at semifinals

She tried everything at her disposal but couldn't find a way to get past the world number four Korean

India's P.V. Sindhu suffered her fourth successive defeat to the young An Seyoung to sign off her women's singles campaign at the semifinal stage of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Saturday.

The third-seeded Indian tried everything at her disposal but couldn't find a way to get past the world number four Korean, going down 14-21 17-21 in 48 minutes.

The 20-year-old An Seyoung gave ample display of her athleticism with her diving returns to keep the rallies alive and didn't falter in her precision, leaving Sindhu to do the catch-up job from the start.

The second-seeded Korean rode on her superb retrieving skills to gallop to a 6-1 lead early on.

Next, she dived twice in quick succession on both flanks to blunt Sindhu's attack and sealed it with a delightful drop.

Two powerful returns took Sindhu to 4-7 but An Seyoung came up with two precise returns, a body blow and then produced another over-the-head return to gain a healthy 11-6 lead at the break.

Sindhu tried to step up the pace, but An Seyoung displayed a wide array of shots to always stay a step ahead. The Indian got a few points with her smashes, but she couldn't put pressure on the Korean.