BWF French Open: Sindhu finishes runner-up; loses to An SeYoung in women's singles final

Paris: Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu wrapped up her BWF French Open, a Super 750 tournament, with a runner-up finish as the two-time Olympic medallist lost to world No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea in the women's single final here on Sunday.

The India ace suffered a 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 loss against the reigning Olympic champion here at the Arena Grand Paris, falling short of becoming the first Indian since 1998 to win the French Open title.

Notably, Aparna Popat won the French Open in 1998, setting a benchmark that no Indian woman has matched since.

Sindhu started strongly and took the opening game 21-16. But the South Korean activated her beast mode in the second and third games to extend her domination over the Indian.

An has defeated Sindhu in each of their previous 10 meetings. With her title win, An extended her head-to-head against Sindhu to 11-0.

For Sindhu, this was her second Super 750 final of the year, after she lifted the Japan Open title in July, beating three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the final. It was her first BWF title since December 2024 and a maiden Super 750 crown.

Sindhu, the World No. 11, reached her maiden French Open badminton summit clash after overcoming Japan’s Hina Akechi 21-10, 20-22, 21-16 in the semifinal. Her campaign in France saw her survive a dramatic opening-round battle against Supanida Katethong of Thailand before beating Riko Gunji of Japan and Chiu Pin-chian of Chinese Taipei in straight games.

An Se Young entered Sunday’s final with a staggering 65-1 win-loss record in 2026. With her win in the final, she is currently on a 50-match winning streak, having clinched all the title clashes that she has played this year, except the All England Open.

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