Kuala Lumpur, Jan 7 (.) India’s PV Sindhu progressed to the Round of 16 of the Malaysia Open 2026 with an easy win over Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun on Wednesday.
Sindhu, who is making a comeback after a four-month injury layoff, beat her lower ranked opponent with a score of 21-13, 22-20 in 51 minutes.
Sindhu took time to settle into the match, trailing 1-6 in the first game as she struggled to find her rhythm and adapt to the conditions. However, once she found her rhythm, her smashes and punches started landing on the right spots.
Recovering from 1-6, Sindhu surged to take a 11-9 lead, and opened up a two-point lead at the mid-game interval.
The world number 31 Chinese Taipei shuttler was finding it difficult to keep the rallies flat- a way she could remain competitive and avoid the barrage of offensive shots directed towards her.
When Sindhu led 14-9 in the second game, it looked like she would easily win in straight games. Sung raised her level, reduced the gap and eventually equalized at 20-20.
At that stage, Sindhu used her vast experience to compose herself and finish the match and won in straight games. It proved to be a valuable workout for Sindhu, who looked sharp despite not playing competitive badminton for over four months.
Sindhu will face an even tougher challenge in the next round when she takes on eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki, a former junior world number one.
Meanwhile, third seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty began their campaign with a stunning 21-13, 21-15 win over Chinese Taipei duo of Lee Jhe-hui and Yang Po-hsuan.
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