Star shuttler PV Sindhu delivered a commanding performance to reach the women’s singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also progressed in the men’s doubles on Thursday. However, India’s men’s singles challenge ended at the pre-quarterfinal stage.
Former world champion Sindhu, competing in only her second tournament since returning from a long injury lay-off, defeated Japan’s eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki 21-8, 21-13 in a swift 33-minute contest. The win marked Sindhu’s second victory over the Japanese teenager, taking her career head-to-head record against Miyazaki to 2–1.
The two-time Olympic medallist will next face third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, a three-time world champion, who overcame China’s Gao Fang Jie 21-11, 4-21, 21-17 in another quarterfinal qualifier.
In the men’s doubles, Asian Games champions Satwik and Chirag produced a composed display to beat Malaysia’s world No. 17 pair Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap 21-18, 21-12 in 39 minutes. The former world No. 1 Indians extended their head-to-head record against the Malaysian duo to 4–0.
Satwik and Chirag, who won a second bronze medal at the World Championships last year and reached the finals of the Hong Kong Open and China Masters in 2025, will next face the winners of the match between Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray and Lin Yu Chieh and sixth seeds Fajar Alfian and Fikri Muhammad of Indonesia.
In contrast, India’s men’s singles campaign came to a close with defeats for Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty. Sen, who had broken a three-year jinx of first-round exits at the tournament by defeating Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh on Wednesday, lost in the pre-quarterfinals to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in a closely fought match.
Also read: Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag off to winning start
Youngster Shetty, meanwhile, put up a spirited fight before going down to top seed Shi Yu Qi of China in a gruelling three-game encounter that lasted 70 minutes.
Sindhu continued to impress with her sharp movement and tactical control against Miyazaki. She raced to an early 5-1 lead in the opening game and then reeled off 13 consecutive points to surge ahead 18-4, before closing out the game comfortably.
The second game followed a similar pattern, though Miyazaki briefly stayed in contention at 8-9. Sindhu, drawing on her vast experience, quickly pulled away to establish a 17–11 lead and wrapped up the match without further difficulty.
In the doubles contest, Satwik and Chirag asserted early control, moving ahead 6-3 before extending the lead to 12–9. The Malaysians responded with three straight points to draw level, but the Indians regained the initiative to lead 16–12.
Junaidi and Roy briefly threatened an upset when they edged ahead 18-17, only for Satwik and Chirag to shut the door decisively by winning four consecutive points to take the opening game.
The second game remained competitive until 8-8, after which the Indians raised the tempo to move ahead 11-8 at the interval and then 15-9, cruising to a comfortable victory.
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