India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu’s poor run against World Number 1 An Se Young continued as she succumbed to a straight-game defeat against the Korean in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament on Friday.

A two-time Olympic medallist, Sindhu lost the match 14-21 13-21 in 38 minutes against the 23-year-old Korean, who had won the gold at the Paris Games. It was Sindhu’s eighth straight defeat to An, against whom she is yet to register a single victory.

Sindhu started poorly and trailed 1-6 before narrowing it to 5-9 with a delicate cross-court drop. However, An used her trademark smashes to lead 11-5 at the interval. Sindhu managed to close in at 11-14, but the Korean maintained her grip and sealed the opener when the Indian returned a smash into the net.

In the second game, Sindhu led 3-2, but only briefly before An regained control. The Indian tried to push with attacking play and trailed 7-8, but An’s superior deception and variety helped her go into the break 11-7 ahead. She extended the lead to 14-7 and never looked back.

Sindhu played some fine front-court drops and round-the-head smashes to win some points, but the Korean was always one up on her. An grabbed eight match points with a cross-court smash and sealed the semifinal spot when Sindhu faulted again.

Also read: Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag advance to quarterfinals