India's Badminton Stars Shine at Malaysia Masters Despite Sindhu's Exit

The Malaysia Masters badminton tournament saw India's male shuttlers, including H S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth, perform exceptionally well, advancing to the second round. However, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu struggled and was eliminated in the first round. The mixed doubles team of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also progressed, while other Indian pairs faced defeats. This tournament highlights the competitive spirit of Indian badminton, showcasing both triumphs and challenges.

By Narendra Chaudhary May 22, 2025, 01:55 IST

Strong Start for Indian Shuttlers

The Malaysia Masters badminton tournament kicked off with a promising performance from India's male players, particularly the seasoned pair of H S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth. However, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu faced an early exit, losing in the first round on Wednesday.

Prannoy and Srikanth were joined by Satish Karunakaran as they advanced to the second round of the competition.

Prannoy opened the day with an impressive victory over Japan's fifth seed Kenta Nishimoto, winning 19-21, 21-17, 21-16 in a match that lasted one hour and 22 minutes. He is set to compete against Yushi Tanaka from Japan next.

Karunakaran also pulled off a significant upset, defeating third seed Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei with a score of 21-13, 21-14 in just 39 minutes. His next opponent will be Christo Popov from France.

Ayush Shetty also made it through, overcoming Canada's Brian Yang with a score of 20-22, 21-10, 21-8.

Later, former world number one Srikanth achieved a remarkable win against sixth seed Lu Guang Zu from China, finishing the match 23-21, 13-21, 21-11 in 57 minutes.

Unfortunately, Sindhu's struggles continued as she was eliminated in the first round of the Super 500 tournament, losing to Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh with scores of 11-21, 21-14, 15-21.

In mixed doubles, the Indian duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the second round after a hard-fought match against the Indonesian team of Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil, winning 21-18, 15-21, 21-14. However, other Indian pairs faced defeats.

Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh were unable to compete against the top seeds Jiang Zheng Bang and Wei Yaxin, losing 10-21, 12-21 in their opening match. Similarly, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde fell to fourth seeds Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui from China with scores of 10-21, 14-21. The pairing of Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath was also eliminated by Indonesia's Verrell Yustin Mulia and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati, losing 15-21, 16-21.