PV Sindhu loses French Open final to world No. 1 An Se Young after spirited fight

PV Sindhu came agonisingly close to ending her long wait for a victory over world No. 1 An Se Young but eventually fell short in the final of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Sunday. The Indian shuttler claimed the opening game against the Olympic champion but could not sustain the momentum, going down 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 after a spirited battle in Paris. The defeat extended Sindhu's winless run against the South Korean to 11 matches, but the two-time Olympic medallist had plenty of positives to take from the contest. An, meanwhile, secured her fourth French Open title and her 11th title of the season, further underlining her dominance on the international circuit.

"I fought for every point. I could win the first game, and I was happy about it. But in the second game, it was equal until five-all or 5-4. After that, she took a lead and maintained it," Sindhu said after the match. "Even in the third game, I should have maintained the lead from 8-5. Unfortunately, she converted that into 11-9. That's where I felt the difference was. But there are a lot of positives to take from this match. Going forward, I need to work on them," she added.

Sindhu used her reach and attacking strokes to good effect in the opening game, which lasted 20 minutes. It was only the second time in her career that she had managed to win a game against An, having failed to beat the Korean in their previous 10 meetings. The opening exchanges were closely contested, with the two engaging in lengthy rallies and net battles to move from 4-4 to 7-7. During one such exchange, An rushed forward to play a shot but ended up hitting Sindhu on the face with the shuttle. Sindhu edged ahead at the interval with an overhead cross-court smash and soon extended her advantage to 15-11, capitalising on An's judgement errors near the backline. The Korean attempted to fight back as Sindhu made a few unforced errors, but the Indian maintained control. A disguised slice helped her earn six game points, and although An saved two with a deceptive drop and an angled cross-court return, another shot from the South Korean sailed long to hand Sindhu the opening game.

The world No. 1 came out aggressively after the change of ends, racing to a 3-0 lead. Sindhu attempted to close the gap with a cross-court smash and a body smash, but An's sharp net play kept her ahead. A brilliant net shot and a 30-shot rally helped the Korean maintain her advantage before two powerful smashes gave her a four-point lead at the interval. An continued to dictate the rallies after the break, moving to 13-7 as Sindhu struggled to maintain consistency. The Indian's errors mounted, allowing the South Korean to claim nine of the next 10 points and move to 17-8. An eventually earned 12 game points. Sindhu saved three before the Olympic champion converted the fourth opportunity to level the match and force a decider.

The deciding game produced another intense contest, with Sindhu battling both An's quality and the sideways drift on court. A 36-shot rally ended with the Indian hitting wide, but she responded strongly to establish a 8-5 lead. An fought back with a smash to level the score at 8-8 before moving ahead after pouncing on a loose shot at the net. A body smash and another attack towards Sindhu's backhand gave the Korean a two-point advantage at the interval. Having won six of the last seven points in the first half of the decider, An carried that momentum forward to move to 13-9. Her shot-making grew sharper as she stretched the lead to 18-10, leaving Sindhu with little room to recover. A shot from Sindhu sailing long handed An eight match points, and the South Korean sealed the title at the first opportunity to complete another victory over the Indian.