PV Sindhu on Wednesday marked her return to action from a break with a straight-game win over Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
Sindhu clinched a 21-17, 21-16 win over the World No 22 in 46 minutes to progress to the second round. The fifth-seeded Indian, who last won a title in 2022 Singapore Open, will next face Korea’s Sim Yu Jin.
In mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy, world No. 53, also advanced to the second round after outlasting Hong Kong qualifiers Lui Chun Wai and Fu Chi Yan 21-15 12-21 21-17 in 47 minutes. The husband-wife duo will have the task of taming the top seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia next.
For Sindhu, it was her third win over Gilmour, a two-time medallist in the Commonwealth Games. The 28-year-old Sindhu was quick to open up a 7-1 lead but Gilmour managed to claw back at 14-14 and 15-15. The Indian, however, dashed her hopes of a challenge as she grabbed six of the next eight points to take the first game.
After the change of sides, Sindhu was more ruthless as she didn’t allow her opponent to make any comeback after once again gaining an early 3-0 lead. Sindhu was 11-6 at the break and kept moving ahead to grab eight match points. To her credit, Gilmour saved four match points before Sindhu sealed the match comfortably.
Sindhu, a former world champion, has endured a series of narrow losses ever since returning from a knee injury early this year. She is eyeing a good show here to boost her confidence ahead of the Paris Olympics.
With PTI inputs
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