PV Sindhu eyes third title at Malaysian Masters

Following a disappointing performance at the Sudirman Cup, India’s top badminton players, including PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, will be striving for a strong showing at the Malaysia Masters 2023 badminton tournament, which will be held from May 23 to 28 in Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysian meet is the 10th tournament on the 2023 BWF World Tour and the second Super 500 event of the season after the Indonesia Masters. The second BWF Super 500 event of the season will feature nine Indian players, including Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen. In the first round, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will face No. 28 Line Christophersen of Denmark, who is currently ranked 11th in the women’s singles world rankings.

Sindhu has won the Malaysia Masters two years in a row, in 2013 and 2016. A win here might help Sindhu gain significant points and vault back into the world’s top ten. Malvika Bansod will play in the women’s singles qualifiers.

Former champion Saina Nehwal, who was scheduled to play her opening match against world No. 1 and top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in round 1, withdrew at the last minute. In the main draw, Aakarshi Kashyap replaced the bronze medalist from the London Olympics in 2012.

In the men’s singles category, HS Prannoy will face world No. 5 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the first round. Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth will take on France’s Toma Junior Popov, while Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Lakshya Sen will open his campaign against former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Interestingly, there are no Indian doubles pairs on the entry list for the tournament.