It was a mixed day for Indian shuttlers as PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal moved into the 2nd round of the Super 500 Malaysia Masters played at Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
In the men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth was outplayed by the Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in two straight sets by 17-21, 5-21. It was a disappointing start for Srikanth who played well in the first game but was completely outplayed by Chou in the second game.
Sai Praneeth did not have a great start also as he lost to Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in two straight sets by 11-21, 15-21 to be knocked out in the first round. Sai looked rusty in both sets and was outplayed by the Danish opponent.
Parupalli Kashyap was no match to Kento Momota of Japan in two straight sets by 17-21, 16-21. It was a decent effort by the Indian who tried his best but could not match the speed of the World number 1.
HS Prannoy defeated Kanta Tsyunemya of Japan in two straight sets by 21-9, 21-17 to set up a second-round match with World number 1 Kento Momota.
In the women’s singles, Saina Nehwal defeated Belgium L Tan in two straight sets. It was a dominating display by the Indian who looked in complete control winning it 21-15, 21-17. Saina who struggled in 2019 got off to a winning start with a bang.
PV Sindhu also had an easy outing defeating E Kosetskaya of Russia in two straight sets by 21-15, 21-13. It was a good display by the World Champion who warmed up for tougher matches with a comfortable win. She will take on Aya Ohori of Japan as he went past Thailand Busan Ongbamrunpghan in three sets by 21-9, 14-21, 15-21.
On the first day, the young pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj RankiReddy lost to Ong YS and Teo S Y of Malaysia in three sets by 15-21, 21-18, 15-21 to be knocked out in the first round.
