PV Sindhu and Indian Doubles Team Shine at Malaysia Open Badminton
Sindhu's Strong Comeback at Malaysia Open
After an extended period away from competition due to injury, PV Sindhu kicked off her new season with a victory, joining forces with the impressive men's doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy as they progressed to the second round of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old former world champion had previously withdrawn from all BWF World Tour events in October to recuperate from a foot injury. In her opening match, she triumphed over Chinese Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun with scores of 21-14, 22-20 in the women's singles.
Ranked 18th, Sindhu displayed no signs of her past injury as she secured her second victory over the lower-ranked Sung, improving her head-to-head record to 2-0. This win sets her up for a round-of-16 match against Japan's World No.9 Tomoka Miyazaki.
Miyazaki, the 2022 world junior champion, advanced after her opponent, the 10th-ranked Sim Yu Jin from South Korea, had to retire due to injury while trailing 21-19, 1-2.
Sindhu's record against Miyazaki stands at 1-1, with their last encounter resulting in a victory for Sindhu at the 2025 China Masters.
Doubles Success for Shetty and Rankireddy
Later in the day, the former World No.1 pair of Satwik and Chirag defeated Chinese Taipei's Yang Po-Hsuan and Lee Jhe-Hue with scores of 21-13, 21-15 in just 35 minutes, securing their place in the pre-quarterfinals.
The Asian Games champions, who reached the semifinals of the BWF World Tour Finals last December, are set to face Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap next.
Mixed Doubles and Other Matches
In mixed doubles, the duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, ranked 17th globally, unfortunately exited in the round of 32 after a tough match against the American pair of Presley Smith and Jennie Gai, losing 15-21, 21-18, 15-21 after 56 minutes of play.
Additionally, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who recently claimed their second Syed Modi International Super 300 title, fought hard but fell short against Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, with scores of 9-21, 23-21, 19-21 in a 66-minute match.
The Panda sisters, Rutuparna and Swetaparna, also faced defeat, losing 11-21, 9-21 to the second-seeded Malaysian pair of Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, another mixed doubles team, were eliminated after a 10-21, 17-21 loss to China's Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.
Young mixed pair Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, along with the women's team of Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, also did not advance past the opening round.
Sindhu's Match Highlights
Sindhu started her match strong, quickly establishing a 6-2 lead and maintaining control throughout the first game. However, the second game proved to be a fierce battle, with Sindhu trailing 4-11 at one point before leveling the score at 13-all.
Despite a strong push from the 28-year-old Sung, who took a three-point lead at 17-14, Sindhu showcased her resilience, coming back to tie the game at 17-all. At 20-all, she clinched the final two points to secure her victory.
In the doubles match, Satwik and Chirag entered with an impressive 6-0 record and dominated from the start, leading throughout the first game. The Taiwanese pair improved their performance in the second game, but the Indian duo shifted gears to close out the match effectively.