Anmol Kharb loses to Xu Wen Jing in Indonesia Masters semifinal, falls 21-16, 21-19

File picture: Anmol Kharb bowed out of the Indonesia Masters semis. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Third seed Anmol Kharb lost to China’s World No. 81 Xu Wen Jing 21-16, 21-19 in the women’s singles semifinals of the Indonesia Masters 2026 in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Saturday, September 5.

Anmol made a bright start, racing to a 4-1 lead, but Xu Wen Jing fought back to level at 4-4 and went into the interval 11-9 ahead. Anmol responded after the break, drawing level at 12-12 and briefly moving ahead 13-12. Xu Wen Jing restored parity at 13-13 and 14-14 before pulling away to lead 18-16. She then closed out the opening game 21-16 in 21 minutes.

Anmol led 5-2 in the second game and extended her advantage to 9-4 before Xu Wen Jing reduced the deficit to 10-6. The Indian took an 11-7 lead into the interval, but Xu Wen Jing responded strongly after the break, levelling at 11-11 and then moving ahead 12-11.

Anmol quickly regained the lead at 13-12 and stretched it to 15-13, only for Xu Wen Jing to fight back again and level at 16-16. The pair remained locked at 17-17 and 19-19 before Xu Wen Jing earned a match point at 20-19 and converted it to win 21-19. She completed a straight-games victory in 49 minutes.

Mansi Singh will take on Canada’s Rachel Chan in the other semifinal on Saturday. Their match is scheduled for around 1:50 pm IST.