Malaysia Open 2022: PV Sindhu, S Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap enter second round; Saina Nehwal bows out

Seventh seed PV Sindhu had to work hard to take revenge on He Bing Jiao for her straight-set first-round loss at Indonesia Open Super 1000 the previous month. The Indian shuttler started strong and raced to an 11-3 lead before the first break. She took control of the court to win the opening game 21-13.

He Bing Jiao bounced back in the second game to take an 11-7 lead before the second game break. Pv Sindhu clinched four consecutive points to level the score to 11-11, but her Chinese opponent regained her momentum to force the match into a decider.

Both opponents were equally matched in the third game and engaged in long rallies to make it 3-3. PV Sindhu dominated He Bing Jiao with a barrage of powerful shots to clinch ten consecutive points to seal her victory.

The victory improved the win-loss record of PV Sindhu against He Bing Jiao to 9-10. She will lock horns with Zhang Yi Man of China or World No. 47 Putri Kusuma Wardani in the second round of the Malaysia Open Super 500.

In the other women’s singles match of the day, Saina Nehwal fell 21-16, 17-21, 14-21 to South Korean shuttler Kim Ga Eun. The Indian shuttler was also knocked out last week in the first round of the Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament.

In the men’s event, both Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth advanced to the second round after winning their respective matches. B Sai Praneeth recorded a comfortable 21-8 21-9 win over Kevin Cordon of Guatemala after less than 30 minutes on court. Parupalli Kashyap bounced back from a one-set deficit to win against home favourite Tommy Sugiarto with a close 16-21 21-16 21-16.

HS Prannoy won against Brice Leverdez of France 21-19,21-14 to book a second-round spot with a comfortable straight-set victory.