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Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu had to be satisfied with a silver medal at the BWF World Tour Finals in Bali on Sunday.
Korean teenager An Seyoung shattered Sindhu’s hopes of regaining the crown with a commanding 21-16, 21-12 victory in the summit clash.
With this victory, An Seyoung completed a hat-trick of titles in Bali. She came into the season-ending tournament with back-to-back titles in the Indonesian Masters and Indonesian Open in the last fortnight.
The way Sindhu played against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinal on Saturday, it looked like the Indian player would give a tough fight to the Korean.
However, reigning world champion Sindhu had no answer to the in-form world No. 6 Seyoung, who dictated terms from the word go.
Third straight defeat for Sindhu against Seyoung
It was Sindhu’s third straight defeat against Seyoung. The promising Korean shuttler had also beaten Sindhu in the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open in October.
Barring a few moments in the first game, Seyoung dominated the 26-year-old Sindhu throughout the 39-minute match.
Seyoung was brilliant in net play as well as with her baseline game. The young shuttler never allowed Sindhu to make a comeback into the match.
This was Sindhu’s third final appearance in the BWF World Tour Finals. The tall Hyderabadi won the title in 2018 in China to become the only Indian to achieve the feat.
Sindhu, who has been training under Korean coach Park Tae Sang for the last couple of years, made a valiant effort in the latter stages of the first game. However, the Korean rising star didn’t lose her focus as she ended the game with a powerful smash.
In the second game, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Sindhu initially matched her opponent but lost her grip after the mid-break. Seyoung capitalized on the opportunity to clinch her maiden BWF World Tour Finals crown.
Results (Finals)
Women’s singles
An Seyoung (Korea) bt PV Sindhu 21-16, 21-12 (39 minutes).
Men’s singles
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) 21-12, 21-8 (43 minutes)
Men’s doubles
Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) bt Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) 21-16, 13-21, 21-17 (61 minutes)
Women’s doubles
Kim Soyeong-Kong Heeyong (Korea) bt Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida (Japan) 21-14, 21-14 (44 minutes)
Mixed doubles
Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) bt Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Japan) 21-19, 21-11 (40 minutes).
