Long rallies brought PV Sindhu a miniscule of points against An Se-young. But neither Sindhu’s credentials as former World champion, nor her resurgent form, not her attacking panache, not her defensive reach, stood any chance against the dominant World No 1 Korean.
With her 21-14, 21-13 win at China Masters, Se-young went 8-0 up on Sindhu in career head to heads.
Se-young has scored 354 points against Sindhu’s 234, which averages almost 15 points more in each of the 8 matches they have played.
The Korean is uncontestable by several players, but some head-to-heads are surprising and epoch-defining. Like she’s lost just once to Ratchanok Intanon in a dozen matches. That, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, also a deceptive player and bronze medallist behind Se-young has never beaten the Korean or Tai Tzu Ying won just 3 of 15.
The only two shuttlers with a positive win count against Se-young are Chen Yufei (14-13) and Akane Yamaguchi (also 14-13).
But that doesn’t help Sindhu or offer her respite, as she stares at possibility of forever struggling to beat the Korean. On Friday at Shenzhen, she went in as firm underdog, and came out utterly clueless though she was coming off a win against a World No 6.
What will bother Sindhu is that she really has no go-to against Se-young, not her big attack, not the recently sharpish net game, not the height advantage, nor the strategic depth to string together a proper lead. Throughout the match, the maximum consecutive points Sindhu could score against the Korean, was 2.
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Se-young scored at will, wherever on the court she wished, and whenever her errors didn’t barge into the contest. It wasn’t even outclassing by some brilliant array of strokes, she unfurled, or some defensive scrambling needed to take points. She was on first gear, gifted a bunch of errors, was a little undecided on chasing down shuttles to the back corner, but simply kept a steady stream of attack to pin the Indian.
Sindhu has played a bunch of deceptive opponents and lost miserably. But nobody really leaves her wrong-footed and stuttering like Se-young does. Sindhu isn’t the only one she leaves boggled, but showing her up for court coverage, when that’s one thing Sindhu can rely on naturally, makes her an easy genius of another level.
It’s not surprising that Yufei and Yamaguchi, two of the best readers of the game, backed with their retrieving skill and finally, dependable attack are the only ones who beat Se-young.
Indonesian coach Irwansyah has a battle on his hands, just to get Sindhu off the mark – get her the first win against the ridiculously talented Korean with her unreal footwork.
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Sindhu though was upbeat she could get it done. It’s a belief she needs to keep and not allow to blight this stage of her career. “It’s not like one player is unbeatable,” she told BWF after the 38 minute match. “Everybody is beatable,” she insisted, “but I have to work hard on my part to get there, to ensure that I’m right there competing against the best. Definitely lot of points to take from this. This tournament has given me a lot of confidence and I hope I give my best next time.”
Even her most ardent partisans believe that save for Se-young, she has it in her to beat the rest still. And even did, taking down No 2 Wang Zhi Yi at World Championships.
But Se-young might be a bridge too far.
On the day’s defeat, Sindhu told BWF: “There were some good rallies. But I was making some unforced errors. I gave her a lead from the start and she led by 5-6 points, and when I tried to get closer, she took that lead again. Overall a good experience playing with her after a very long time.”
The ASY puzzle is intimidatingly tough. But Sindhu knows what needs doing. “I need to see what needs to improve from my side to come back stronger. But overall, I could’ve played much more consistent. But next time I play against her I’ll have to keep that in mind and come back stronger.”
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The long rallies held potential only if to frustrate Se-young who is not used to being pushed far by attacking opponents.
Sindhu has largely been troubled by deceptive players, but rarely faced anyone who drowns her in attack, except Carolina Marin. Se-young negates her attack on a canter, and then unleashes some. All while looking untroubled, distracted and dissatisfied even. She could be drawn into errors, but not three in a row.
Sindhu though is operating at a lower tier, and more concerned with getting the everyday wins against the Nos 2 to 20, not in a position to mourn losing to Non 1. “Last week was not so good for me. But this week has been good. Playing quarters I need to maintain my consistency in whatever I’m doing. Lot of things to take away from yesterday’s match (she beat World No 6 Chochuwong), from this tournament and last,” she told BWF.
High-hanging fruits are best left without too much regret, in her case. Her plate is full negotiating the circuit. “Game keeps changing everytime. We need to make sure strategy wise, we need to keep changing accordingly. And get used to every match. I have to be ready for everything. It’s not the same kinda game with every athlete so I need to make sure I can change immediately. If Plan A doesn’t work, I need to be able to play with Plan B,” she said.
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Win/Loss net of opponents against An Se-young:
PV Sindhu 0 W, 8 L
Chen Yufei 14 W, 13 L
Wang Zhi Yi 4 W, 13 L
Han Yue 2 W, 8 L
Ratchanok Intanon 1 W, 11L
Akane Yamaguchi 14 W, 13 L
Tomoka Miyazaki 0 W, 3 L
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 0 W, 11 L
Tai Tzu Ying 3 W, 12 L
Carolina Marin 4 W, 6 L
Saina Nehwal 1 W, 1 L (25-23,21-12, Malaysia 2020)
Kim Ga Eun 4 W, 6 L
He Bing Jiao 5 W, 9 L
