INDIA’S PV Sindhu put up a spirited fight before going down to World No 1 An Se Young of South Korea in three games to finish runner-up at the USD 950,000 French Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Sunday. The 31-year-old Indian lost 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 to the Olympic champion, who clinched her fourth French Open title and 11th crown of the season. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, started strongly and used her reach and attacking strokes to take the opening game in 20 minutes. It was only the second time in her career that she had managed to take a game off the Korean, whom she has never beaten in 11 meetings so far. There were a lot of net battles as the two engaged in exciting rallies to move from 4-4 to 7-7 at one stage.

 

During one such exchange, An pounced on a shuttle and sent it away, only to hit Sindhu on the face. Sindhu took a two-point lead at the break with an overhead cross-court smash. She used her reach to good effect and soon moved to 15-11, with An making judgement errors at the backline. A lift going long and a smash into the net from Sindhu helped An cut the deficit to 13-15. Sindhu smashed into the net again before An made another judgement error at the sideline. The Korean sent one long as Sindhu zoomed to 19-14. The Indian grabbed six game points with a disguised slice. A deceptive drop and an angled cross-court return helped An save two game points before she sent one long again, allowing Sindhu to clinch the opening game in 20 minutes. It was only the second time she had taken a game from the Korean.