Kuala Lumpur, May 23 (UNI) Returning from a break, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the women’s singles second round with a straight-game victory over Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
World No. 15 Sindhu, who had skipped the Uber Cup and Thailand Open, secured a 21-17, 21-16 win over Gilmour, ranked 22nd, in a 46-minute opening-round match. The fifth-seeded Indian will next face Korea’s Sim Yu Jin.
In other matches, Ashmita Chaliha also moved to the second round after defeating qualifier Sih Yun Lin of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-16. However, Unnati Hooda and Aakarshi Kashyap exited in the opening round, along with Kiran George in the men’s singles.
In mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the second round with a 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 victory over Hong Kong qualifiers Lui Chun Wai and Fu Chi Yan. They will next face top seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia.
The men’s doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and K Sai Pratheek also progressed, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Ming Che Lu and Tang Kai Wei 23-21, 21-11.
Sindhu’s victory marked her third win over Gilmour, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist. Sindhu, a former world champion, is aiming for a strong performance at the Malaysia Masters to boost her confidence ahead of the Paris Olympics.
