By: The Trek News Desk
India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu continued her impressive comeback run at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament, booking a place in the women’s singles quarterfinals with a commanding win on Thursday (January 8, 2026). Returning after a prolonged injury break, the former world champion outclassed Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki in straight games.
Sindhu wrapped up the contest in just 33 minutes, registering a convincing 21-8, 21-13 victory. The result underlined her growing confidence since returning to competitive action and also gave her a 2-1 lead in the career head-to-head against the young Japanese shuttler.
The 30-year-old Indian started the match on an aggressive note. After taking an early 5-1 advantage in the opening game, Sindhu went on a remarkable scoring spree, collecting 13 consecutive points to surge ahead 18-4 before closing out the game with ease.
The second game followed a similar pattern, though Miyazaki briefly stayed in contention as the scoreline read 9-8. However, Sindhu relied on her vast experience and tactical control to pull away to a 17-11 lead and comfortably seal the match.
In the quarterfinals, Sindhu will face the winner of the pre-quarterfinal clash between China’s Gao Fang Jie and Japan’s third seed Akane Yamaguchi.
Sen and Shetty bow out
India endured mixed fortunes in the men’s singles draw. Lakshya Sen’s campaign came to an end in the pre-quarterfinals after a hard-fought loss to Hong Kong-China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. The 53-minute encounter saw Sen go down 20-22, 15-21.
Youngster Ayush Shetty also exited the tournament despite putting up a strong fight against top seed Shi Yu Qi of China. In a gruelling 70-minute battle, Shetty lost 18-21, 21-18, 12-21.
Indian doubles pair progresses
Earlier on Wednesday (January 7, 2026), India’s experienced men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-Hsuan and Lee Jhe-Hue 21-13, 21-15 in 35 minutes.
Overall, Sindhu’s dominant display has emerged as a major positive for India at the Malaysia Open, raising hopes of a deep run in the prestigious Super 1000 event.
Source: News Agencies
