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PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag Advance at Malaysia Open 2026

PV Sindhu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Malaysia Open 2026 with a straight-games victory over Sung Shuo-yun of Chinese Taipei. The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also progressed comfortably. However, India's campaign in women's and mixed doubles ended with several first-round exits. Sindhu now faces a tough challenge against Japan's world No. 9, Tomoka Miyazaki.

Key Points: PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag Win at Malaysia Open 2026

  • Sindhu wins in straight games
  • Satwik-Chirag dominate Taipei pair
  • Tough losses in women's doubles
  • Mixed doubles campaign ends early
3 min read

Malaysia Open 2026: PV Sindhu cruises into pre-quarters; Satwik-Chirag also progress

PV Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Satwik-Chirag progress to the pre-quarters at the Malaysia Open 2026. Follow India's badminton results.

"The win marked Sindhu's third victory over Sung Shuo-yun in as many encounters. - Olympics.com"

New Delhi, January 7

India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles at the Malaysia Open 2026 after registering a straight-games win at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, as per Olympics.com.

The two-time Olympian, currently ranked 18th in the BWF women's singles rankings, defeated world No. 33 Sung Shuo-yun of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 22-20 to move into the second round of the tournament.

Sindhu took some time to settle into the contest but managed to hold a slender 11-9 lead at the mid-game interval of the opening game. She then found her rhythm and closed out the first game comfortably. The second game proved to be more challenging as Sung pushed Sindhu to the limit, forcing a tie-breaker.

The win marked Sindhu's third victory over Sung Shuo-yun in as many encounters. She will now face a tough challenge against Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki, the world No. 9, in the pre-quarterfinals.

India also enjoyed success in the men's doubles, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy progressing to the second round. The third-seeded Indian pair cruised past Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan 21-13, 21-15 in a match that lasted just 35 minutes.

With this result, Satwik and Chirag extended their dominant head-to-head record against the Taipei duo to 6-0.

However, it was a mixed day for India in the women's doubles. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bowed out after a closely-fought three-game loss, going down 21-9, 21-23, 21-19 to Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari.

Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda also exited in the opening round following a straight-games defeat to second seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia, losing 21-11, 21-9. Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi suffered a similar fate after going down 21-12, 21-11 against Japan's fifth-seeded pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto.

India's mixed doubles campaign also ended on Wednesday. Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila, who represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympics, were knocked out in the first round after a three-game loss to Americans Presley Smith and Jennie Gai, 21-15, 18-21, 21-15.

Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde were also eliminated in the opening round after losing 21-10, 21-17 to second-seeded People's Republic of China's Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh's campaign came to an end following a 21-11, 21-9 defeat against Thailand's Phuwanat Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard, bringing curtains down on India's mixed doubles challenge at the BWF Super 1000 event.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Sindhu's fighting spirit in that second game! 💪 She was pushed but held her nerve. That's the champion mentality we need. All the best for the pre-quarters! Sad to see Treesa-Gayatri lose such a close match, they fought hard.
R
Rohit P
Satwik and Chirag are our golden boys! 6-0 head-to-head is just domination. They are genuine medal contenders for any tournament now. The mixed doubles exit is disappointing, we really need to develop strong pairs in that category.
S
Sarah B
Watching from the US, it's fantastic to see Indian badminton doing so well! Sindhu is a legend. The article shows the gap between the top pairs and the others, though. Hope the younger players get more exposure and support.
K
Karthik V
Respectfully, while we celebrate the wins, the overall picture is a bit lopsided. We are too dependent on 2-3 players/pairs. The women's and mixed doubles teams were outclassed. BAI needs a long-term plan to build a larger pool of world-class players, not just rely on individual brilliance.
M
Meera T
Come on Sindhu! You can do it! Beat Miyazaki! 🏸 The second game was a nail-biter. Satwik-Chirag make it look so easy. Feeling bad for Treesa and Gayatri, they lost by just 2 points in the decider. So close!

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