Indian challenge ends as Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu go down in Indonesia Masters semis

The Indian challenge ended at the Indonesia Masters BWF World Tour Super 750 badminton tournament in Bali on Saturday with PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth bowing out in the semi-finals.

Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, ranked world No 3, stopped Srikanth’s impressive run with a 21-14, 21-9 victory in 41 minutes in the men’s singles. It was Antonsen’s third win over Srikanth in four meetings.

World No 15 Srikanth, who upset reigning Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the second round, matched his higher-ranked opponent early in the first game, but faltered as the match progressed.

Akane Yamaguchi avenges Tokyo Olympics defeat against PV Sindhu

Akane Yamaguchi beat double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu in straight games to avenge her Tokyo Olympics quarter-final defeat. World No 3 Yamaguchi won 21-13, 21-9 in 32 minutes in the women’s singles.

Top seed Yamaguchi, who has been in red hot form in recent months, extended her winning streak to 14 matches. The 24-year-old has won back-to-back titles at the Denmark Open and the French Open.

The diminutive Japanese will take on fourth seed An Seyoung of Korea for a hat-trick of titles on Sunday.

World No 7 Sindhu led 12-7 head-to-head going into Friday’s meeting, including two wins this year. However, Yamaguchi turned the tables in style on the Indian.

“I just made too many errors. I didn’t play my game. I gave her a huge lead from the beginning. Even though I was trying a few things, they were just going out. The points I was supposed to get, I was making mistakes. There were no good rallies and she was leading by 7-8 points. Overall, I lacked. It was just not my day today,” Sindhu told the BWF after the match.