Playing her first major tournament after a three-month injury layoff, the 30-year-old showed no signs of rust, winning 21-14, 22-20 in a match lasting just over 51 minutes. Sindhu, who had withdrawn from all BWF World Tour events in October to recover from a foot injury, controlled the contest with her trademark power and court coverage.
She raced to an early 6-2 lead in the opening game and closed it out comfortably. The second game, however, tested her resilience. Trailing 4-11 at the interval, Sindhu staged a composed comeback, levelling the score at 13-all before weathering sustained pressure from Sung. After both players reached 20-all, Sindhu seized the final two points to seal the match. She will next face Japan’s world No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki in the round of 16.
India’s men’s singles players also delivered strong performances earlier in the tournament. Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round on Tuesday after a hard-fought three-game win over Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh. The 24-year-old, currently ranked 13th in the world, prevailed 21-16, 15-21, 21-14 in a 70-minute contest. Sen, a former World Championship bronze medallist, will now take on Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu, who defeated sixth seed Christo Popov.
One of the standout results of the opening rounds came from Ayush Shetty, who produced a major upset by defeating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in straight games, 21-12, 21-17. The young Indian displayed composure and tactical sharpness to outplay the higher-ranked Malaysian. Shetty now faces a stern test against world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in the second round.
Not all results went India’s way. In mixed doubles, the world No. 17 pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto exited in the round of 32 after a closely contested loss to American duo Presley Smith and Jennie Gai, falling 15-21, 21-18, 15-21 in 56 minutes.
Meanwhile, top men’s doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are scheduled to begin their campaign later on Wednesday against Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-Hsuan and Lee Jhe-Hue.
With multiple Indian shuttlers progressing, the Malaysian Open has set an encouraging tone for India’s 2025 badminton season.
