Malaysia Masters: PV Sindhu makes winning return after break; Ashmita Chaliha and Kiran George also progress in singles

Returning to action after more than a month, PV Sindhu overcame a tricky opening round against Scottish veteran Kirsty Gilmour at Malaysia Masters Super 500 on Wednesday. Also entering the round of 16 were Ashmita Chaliha, Kiran George, Sumeeth Reddy-Sikki Reddy, and Krishna Prasad Garaga-Sai Pratheek.

Sindhu beat the world No 22 21-17 21-16 in a slugfest that lasted 46 minutes. With the rest of India’s Paris Olympics-bound shuttlers not in action in Kuala Lumpur, Sindhu’s return to action is the headliner. And she needed to be sharp against the European silver medallist. Gilmour has the game (and recent form) to trouble Sindhu consistently in rallies, but perhaps wasn’t sharp enough over the course of the match.

Both Gilmour and Sindhu struggled to judge length in the opening game. It’s been a concern for Sindhu recently, and the mistakes kept Gilmour in the hunt, as Sindhu appeared to lack sharpness in rallies with Gilmour making it 15-15 from 5-11 down.

Sindhu, you inspire us all 💪🏸

📸: @badmintonphoto#PV450#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/GKNlkKdtmZ

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) May 22, 2024

But a typically loud roar followed after Sindhu went up 18-15 and from there on, she was steady. The former world champion had the better start to the second game and scoreboard pressure meant Gilmour started to lose control of the longer rallies. A 16-9 lead was followed by 8 match points, and even though Gilmour saved four of them, Sindhu prevailed. She now faces Korea’s Sim Yu Jin and her rallying skills will be tested once more. If she advances, Sindhu could have the chance to reverse a three-game defeat at the Asian Championships against China’s Han Yue.

Ashmita reached the second round with a 21-17 21-16 win over qualifier Sih Yun Lin of Chinese Taipei and faces third seed Beiwen Zhang of USA next. In men’s singles, where India usually have had the strongest representation in recent times, only Kiran George is in the main draw and he defeated Japan’s Takuma Obayashi 21-16, 21-17, making a strong comeback after trailing in the second game.

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