P.V. Sindhu Stunned Again at Indonesia Open as An Se-young Turns Rivalry Into a One-Way Battle

India's two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu's run at the Indonesia Open 2026 came to an end, leaving the fans disappointed. After she lost in the pre-quarterfinals to South Korea's world number one An Se Young in Jakarta. The match finished 21-17, 21-15, as An Se Young had once again controlled the game with her sharp and steady performance.

Sindhu didn't hold back. The effort was there, the fight was there, results just weren't. An Se Youngis that kind of opponent who is Quiet, calculated, doesn't do anything spectacular but somehow wins every exchange that matters. Sindhu had her patches in the first game, moments where it looked like something might shift. Never did.

The streak between them has gone on long enough now that it feels less like bad luck and more like a genuine gap. Not in fitness, not in spirit but in how their games match up. An Se Young reads Sindhu well. Probably better than anyone else on tour does.

Jakarta ends early for India's most celebrated badminton star. Fans back home have seen this before and the feeling is the same every time frustrating, but hard to argue with. An Se Young is simply the form player of this era in women's singles, and right now Sindhu hasn't found the formula to change that head-to-head record.

Maybe the next one. That's all there is to hold onto at this point. Ten losses in a row now. Sindhu had won her first round match against Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan and walked into Thursday's clash with confidence. The first game she held her own was level at 14-13 midway through, even stretching one rally to 41 shots. But An Se Young grabbed two quick points late and took it.

The second game never had the same feel. Sindhu struggled to build anything and the Korean closed it out at 21-15 without too many alarms. Final score 21-17, 21-15. Sindhu played some decent badminton in spells, mostly in that opening game. An Se Young though keeps getting the job done against her ten times straight now across different tournaments and surfaces. The head-to-head record tells its own story. Sindhu moves on and the next tournament will come around soon.

The South Korean healthily carried the momentum throughout, and that passed into the second game, building an early lead and maintaining control with her strong defense and excellent court coverage, despite Sindhu showing moments of attacking intent and remaining firmly in control and closing out a straight-game win to move into the quarter-finals.

This was also the second time in two weeks Sindhu has fallen to An Se Young. The week before in Singapore, the Korean had beaten her in the quarterfinals as well. Back-to-back losses to the same opponent in consecutive tournaments, not an easy pill to swallow.

The head-to-head between them has become pretty one-sided and that much is hard to ignore now. Sindhu still produces good badminton in patches, the first game in Jakarta showed that well enough. But good patches and winning matches are two different things, and against An Se Young that gap has been hard to bridge.

Ten meetings, ten losses. Sindhu is clearly still motivated and still capable of competing at this level. Getting that over the line against the Olympic champion though that is the part that keeps slipping away.

Sportscape feels that the Ten losses in a row against An Se Young, and the latest one came just a week after losing to her in Singapore as well. Two tournaments, two defeats, same opponent. Sindhu did show up to compete in Jakarta. First game had some decent stretches and she was right in it for a good chunk of the opening game. But An Se Young is tough to sustain pressure against over a full match and that has been the story across their meetings for a while now. The gap between them in terms of current form is fairly clear at this stage. Sindhu at her best is still a quality player her record in the sport speaks for itself. Against An Se Young though, finding that winning performance has been difficult and ten straight results reflect that. She will be back on court soon enough and another chance will come. That is the nature of the tour.