PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth crash out of Indonesia Masters 2021

The Indian challenge came to a halt at the tournament following the defeat of both players.

PV Sindhu's winning run at the ongoing Indonesia Masters 2021 came to an end on Saturday at the semi-finals. The two-time Olympic medallist lost 13-21, 9-21 to top seed Akane Yamaguchi in straight games.

Sindhu came into the match after registering a dominating victory over Turkey's Neslihan Yigit in the quarter-finals. However, the Indian shuttler failed to display the same intensity and good form against the world No. 3 in a crucial Indonesia Masters game.

Yamaguchi will now face South Korea's An Se-young in the final of the competition. She is the favourite to win the title and her confidence will be a notch higher after defeating the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist. The Japanese started the match on a bright note as she swiftly took a 3-0 lead with some powerful strokes.

Sindhu tried to make a comeback after early hiccups but failed to match Yamaguchi's agility. She fell behind by 7-11 at the break and wasn't able to catch her opponent later. The second game also saw Yamaguchi dominating the Indian shuttler right from the beginning. Sindhu earned the first point of the game but then it was a cakewalk for her opponent.

Yamaguchi showed immense strength in the game. Her net play was also terrific as she led by 11-5 at the break. Sindhu found it hard to return her opponents' smashes as well and kept falling behind after the break to crash out of the tournament.

Srikanth loses an one-sided battle

Kidambi Srikanth also crashed out of the Indonesia Masters after facing defeat at the semi-finals. Denmark's Anders Antonsen was on top of his game against the Indian shuttler and won the match 21-14, 21-9 in straight games.

World No. 3 Antonsen hasn't lost in the tournament so far and showed the same quality against Srikanth. He started the first game brightly and was leading by 11-6 at the break. He upped the ante after the break to take the lead in the match. The Indian shuttler struggled in the second game as well.

Antonsen took a 10-4 lead in no time and cruised to victory after the break to move into the final of the tournament. He will now face world No. 1 Kento Momota for the title.

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