Kuala Lumpur, May 22: She may not be at her best. But PV Sindhu is trying desperately to regain her old touch, her aggressive brand of badminton. In Malaysia Masters on Wednesday, she somewhat replicated her previous magic.
The two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu moved to the second round of the Malaysia Masters after beating Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland, here at Axiata Arena.
Fifth seed Sindhu, who won the Malaysia Masters in 2013 and 2016, registered a 21-17, 21-16 win over the world no. 22 Scot on Wednesday.
This is the 28-year-old Indian's seventh tournament of the year. She returned from injury at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February. Sindhu recently sat out the Uber Cup and Thailand Open to focus on her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Youngsters Ashmita Chaliha, Unnati Hooda and Aakarshi Kashyap are the others Indians in the women’s singles main draw..
In the mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikky Reddy defeated Lui Chun Wai and Fu Chi Yan of Hong Kong 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 to enter the second round.
With Paris Olympics nearing, Indian badminton fans would be excited to see Sindhu dominate the proceedings again. But Sindhu needs to win more games and championships, if she plans to win another Olympic medal. (With IANS support)
