Badminton
Malaysia Open: PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag advance to second round; Treesa-Gayatri exit
Sindhu defeated lower-ranked Sung Shuo-yun of Chinese Taipei in straight games to begin her year on a good note.
PV Sindhu advanced to the round of 16 of the Malaysia Open 2026. (File photo)
Indian ace PV Sindhu gave a good start to her year, registering a straight-game win in the opening round of the year's first tournament, Malaysia Open, on Wednesday.
The two-time Olympic medalist got the better of Sung Shuo-yun of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 22-20 in a 51-minute encounter, keeping her unbeaten record against her.
This was the third consecutive win for Sindhu against the Taipei player, having all three straight-game wins against her and not losing even a single game.
Sindhu, however, had a poor start to the match, trailing by 5 points in the opening game, but then she found her rhythm and won 10 straight points to close out the game comfortably.
She maintained her momentum in the second game, gaining a 4-point lead post mid-game. But Sung then finds some good shots and forces extra points in the second game.
The 30-year-old Indian survived this late scare and won the final two points post-deuce to win the match in straight games, setting up a pre-quarterfinal clash against Tomoka Miyazaki.
In the men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also begin with a straight-game, 21-13, 21-15 win over the Chinese Taipei pairing of Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan.
This was the sixth consecutive win for the Indian duo against Lee-Yan, maintaining their unbeaten record and confirming the second round matchup against the Malaysian pair of Arif and Yap.
Meanwhile, Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a tough three-game, 9-21, 23-21, 19-21 defeat to the Indonesian pair in the round of 32.
Dhruv-Tanisha bowed out in first round
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto faced a first-round exit in Kuala Lumpur, losing in a tight three-game match to the American pair.
The US duo of Presley Smith and Jennie Gai knocked out the young Indian pair, 21-15, 18-21, 21-15, after a 56-minute-long round of 32 encounter.
This was the sixth first-round exit for Dhruv-Tanisha in the last 10 tournaments, and with a tough year ahead, the Indian pair will aim to return in form in the coming tournaments.
