PV Sindhu advanced to the second round of the Malaysian Masters 2022 women’s singles tournament with a tough win over China’s He Bingjiao on Wednesday at Kuala Lumpur’s Axiata Arena. PV Sindhu, ranked seventh in the world, defeated World No. 9 He Bingjiao 21-13, 17-21, 21-15 in 56 minutes.
PV Sindhu, who fell in the first round of the Indonesian Open to He Bingjiao last month, controlled the early attacks to take a commanding 11-3 lead at the first break. Thereafter, the Indian dominated the game, taking a 1-0 lead.
He Bingjiao outscored two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu 11-7 at halftime after the changeover. PV Sindhu tied the game at 11 points on a four-point run, but He Bingjiao immediately recovered and forced the decider.
Both midfielders participated in extended rallies in the third game. After the scores closed at 3-3, PV Sindhu scored 10 straight points and held off a late comeback to advance to the second round of the BWF Super 500 badminton event.
PV Sindhu’s ninth victory over He Bingjiao in 19 games. PV Sindhu also edged out He Bingjiao route to a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year. The Indian shuttle will face China’s world bronze medalist Zhang Yi Man in the second round.
Meanwhile, the former world number one Saina Nehwal’s terrible record continued with another early exit.
Saina Nehwal, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, looked good against South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun in the first game, but lost 16-21, 21-17, 21-14. This year, Saina Nehwal has yet to get past the second round of any championship.
In the men’s singles, H.S. Prannoy, who has returned to the top-20 of the BWF world rankings for the first time in almost three years, defeated France’s Brice Leverdez 21-19, 21-14. The 19th-ranked Indian will face Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei next.
Former Commonwealth Games winner Parupalli Kashyap also advanced to the next round with a 16-21, 21-16, 21-16 win over Tommy from Indonesia Sugiarto.
Earlier in the day, world champion B Sai Praneethranked 20th, he defeated former Pan American Games winner Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 21-8, 21-9.
Meanwhile, World No. 30 Samir Verma was eliminated after losing to World No. 4 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-10, 12-21, 14-21.
Ashwini Ponnappa y N. Sikki Reddy they were defeated in the women’s doubles by the Indonesians Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi. 19-21, 21-18, 16-21.