The Indian challenge at the Korean Open 2022 came to an end. A disappointing outing for the Indian shuttlers in both the men’s and women’s singles, as P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth lost their semifinal outings on Saturday.
Third seed PV Sindhu failed to cope with the local girl, An Seyoung. Sindhu. Sindhu looked off colour right from the beginning of the match and never recovered at the Palma Stadium.
Sindhu looks off-colour
The match started at a fast speed. The super-fit South Korean shuttler was mentally better prepared and full of confidence. She started off in great fashion by taking a 3-0 lead in the opening game. She never allowed Sindhu to come back into the match. Sindhu played some fabulous badminton, but in patches. An Seyoung wins the first game, 21-14.
Sindhu started off with a bang in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead. She was looking to bounce back strongly. But the local girl, who had the full support of the crowd, put pressure on Sindhu and took five consecutive points to take a 5-3 lead. The fierce battle continued at one point, when both the players were tied at 9-9.
Tiredness on Sindhu’s face could be seen. The Korean girl took advantage and defeated Sindhu in the second game by a score of 21-17. The score line went in favour of An Seyoung, 21-14, 21-17. The match ended in 49 minutes.
Srikanth fails to cope with Indonesian challenge
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth never looked as confident as he was in the quarterfinals. Lack of consistency helped Srikanth’s Indonesian opponent, Jonathan Kristie, bag the first game, 21-19. Srikanth missed some easy chances. While Kristie’s confidence level was touching the seventh sky after winning the first game.
The second game was totally dominated by the Indonesian shuttler as he never allowed Sirkanth to come back into the match. In the end, Jonathan Kristie of Indonesia won the match by 21-19, 21-16 and moved into the final.
Wasim Haque
