Malaysia Open: No grand welcome for PV Sindhu

Kuala Lumpur, January 11

Double Olympics medallist PV Sindhu faltered on her return to action after a long injury lay-off but in-form HS Prannoy continued his sensational run to progress to the second round of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament here today.

Sixth seed Sindhu, who was playing her first match since August 2022, lost 12-21 21-10 15-21 to Carolina Marin of Spain in 59 minutes.

Compatriot Malvika Bansod also failed to cross the opening hurdle, losing 9-21 13-21 to second seed An Se Young of South Korea.

Earlier, world No. 8 Prannoy lived up to his new status of being India’s best-ranked male player in the singles with a come-from-behind 22-24 21-12 21-18 victory over compatriot Lakshya Sen in an edgy opening-round contest that lasted a little over an hour. The 30-year-old will next face Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-16 21-13 win over the South Korean pair of Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho. The world No. 5 pair will next meet the Indonesian combination of Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana.

The women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam lost 10-21 12-21 to Thailand’s Supissara Paewsampran and Puttita Supajirakul.

Rusty Sindhu

Sindhu came into the match with a 5-9 head-to-head record against Marin. The Indian had a rusty start as she struggled with her finishing, allowing an aggressive Marin to grab an 11-3 lead at the interval. The Spaniard then zoomed to eight game points with precise returns, converting at the first opportunity.

In the second game, Sindhu turned the tables on Marin by moving to a massive seven-point lead at the break.