PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Srikanth enter Malaysia Masters pre-quarterfinals

Star Indian shuttlers HS Prannoy, PV Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth registered contrasting victories in their respective opening-round encounters, securing their spots in the pre-quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Sindhu, seeded sixth, faced a tough battle against Denmark's Line Christophersen, eventually triumphing in a grueling one-hour and two-minute encounter.

The two-time Olympic medallist prevailed with a 21-13, 17-21, 21-18 victory, maintaining her dominance over the 33rd-ranked Dane, whom she had defeated four times before.

Sindhu, currently ranked 13th in the world, will now face Japan's Aya Ohori in the next round.

In the men's singles event, Kidambi Srikanth showcased his skills and emerged victorious, defeating Toma Junior Popov with a score of 21-12, 21-16.

Toma Popov put up a fight but Srikanth used all his experience and skills to win the game with relative ease.

Srikanth now moves on to the second round where he will face Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who is seeded eighth.

In the other men's singles event, HS Prannoy came back from behind to trump Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and avenge his defeat last week in Sudirman Cup.

In a game that went on for 64 minutes, HS Prannoy lost the first game 16-21 with Chou dominating the winners.

Making a comeback in the second game, Prannoy played longer rallies and hit his winners to precision. He won the game 21-14.

Coming into the decider, Prannoy ran into an early lead of 11-5 which put Chou on the back foot and he could barely recover from it to lose the game 21-13.

The performances of Prannoy, Sindhu, and Srikanth have generated excitement among Indian badminton fans, as they look forward to their upcoming matches in the pre-quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters.

On the other hand, it was a disappointing day for Indian qualifiers Ashmita Chaliha, Malvika Bansod, and Aakarshi Kashyap in the women's singles competition. Both players suffered straight-game defeats, bringing an end to their campaign in the opening round.

Ashmita lost 17-21, 7-21 against fourth-seeded Yue Han of China, while Aakarshi was defeated by top-seeded Japanese player Akane Yamaguchi with a score of 17-21, 12-21.

Malvika Bansod lost against Wang Zhi Yi of China by 11-21 and 13-21 leaving PV Sindhu as India's only representation in Women's singles.

Later in the day, Lakshya Sen will face Loh Kean Yew in men's singles.