Malaysia Masters Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy & Lakshya Sen enter 2nd round

Malaysia Masters Highlights– HS Prannoy clinched a 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 win against Chou Tien Chen in the first round at Malaysia Masters 2023. With the win he has avenged his defeat against the Taiwanese at the SudimanCup much recently. PV Sindhu clinched a 21-13, 17-21, 21-18 victory against Line Christophersen in the first round at Malaysia Masters on Wednesday, 24th May 2023. Earlier, Kidambi Srikanth defeated Toma Junior Popov 21-12, 21-16 to enter the second round. Lakshya Sen also defeated seventh seed Loh Kean Yew. Follow Malaysia Masters 2023 LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN 

Malaysia Masters Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy & Lakshya Sen enter 2nd round

Also Read: Malaysia Masters 2023: Draws, Schedule, Top seeds, LIVE streaming, Check All you need to know

First Round Matches

Men’s Singles

Kidambi Srikanth BEAT Toma Junior Popov – 21-12, 21-16

HS Prannoy BEAT Chou Tien Chen – 16-21, 21-14, 21-13

Lakshya Sen BEAT Loh Kean Yew – 21-16, 16-21, 21-9

Women’s Singles

Aakarshi Kashyap LOST TO Akane Yamaguchi – 17-21, 12-21

Ashmitha Chaliha LOST TO Han Yue – 17-21, 7-21

PV Sindhu BEAT Line Christophersen – 21-13, 17-21, 21-18

Malvika Bansod LOST TO Wang Zhi Yi – 11-21, 13-21

Kidambi Srikanth vs Toma Junior Popov

Kidambi Srikanth and Toma Junior Popov began the contest with a close battle. Srikanth managed to pip the Frenchman and entered the interval in the first game with a two point lead. In the second half of the first game, Popov started committing errors and Srikanth soon took a five-point lead. Srikanth continued the momentum and from 16-12, he took five straight points to win the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth began with a 5-2 lead. However, with three points on the trot, Popov reduced the deficit to 5-6. Neck-to-neck battle ensued and Popov soon took a 10-9 lead. He entered the interval with a one-point difference.

The battle continued after the interval and Srikanth finally managed to take 16-15 lead after a drop shot. He soon gained the momentum and continued to pick up three straight points to go up 18-15. He held on to the lead and closed the second game 21-16 to win the contest.

HS Prannoy vs Chou Tien Chen

HS Prannoy will face Chou Tien Chen in a rematch of their clash at the Sudirman Cup much recently. Prannoy lost the contest in straight sets and is eyeing a revenge.

Prannoy hasn’t made it to the quarterfinal in the BWF Tour since the Malaysian Open at the start of the year. He hopes to get back to his best in the upcoming tournament.

Chou Tien Chen meanwhile finished as runner-up at the Swiss Open this year. It is his best performance of the season so far. The Taiwanese leads the head-to-head record 6-2 against Prannoy and enters the contest as the favourite.

Lakshya Sen vs Loh Kean Yew

Lakshya Sen, who was in the reserve list in Sudirman Cup, will open against former world champion Loh Kean Yew from Singapore. Lakshya Sen has gone down to World No.22 in the rankings and hopes to climb his way up. He made it to the quarterfinal only once in the tour. It was at the Indonesia Masters earlier this year.

Loh Kean Yew meanwhile entrers as the favourite in the upcoming contest. Both the players faced each other earlier this year at the Badminton Asia Championships and the Singaporean defeated Lakshya Sen. However Lakshya still leads the head-to-head record 4-3 against Loh Kean Yew.

Women’s Singles

PV Sindhu vs Line Christophersen

Line Christophersen began the contest with a 5-3 lead in the first game. Sindhu however was quick enough to close the gap as the fought back and picked up five straight points to go up 8-5. She then entered the interval with a 11-8 lead.

Sindhu continued to pile up points as she began the game after the interval by taking four points on the trot. It soon became a one-sided encounter as she comfortably won the first game 21-13.

In the second game, Christophersen put on a fight right from the start. The Dane entered the interval with a three-point lead. Trailing 12-15, Sindhu managed to level the scores 15-15. Christophersen however didn’t let the Indian take the lead. From 17-17, she took four straight points and took the match into the decider.

In the third game, Sindhu began with a 9-4 lead. However Christophersen made a comeback and entered the interval with a slender one-point lead. Trailing 15-17, Sindhu showed her experience as she fought back and with four successive points took the lead. Under pressure Christophersen committed errors and a wide shot from her helped Sindhu win the contest.

Meanwhile, Ashmitha Chaliha and Malvika Bansod made their way into the main draw after playing in the qualifiers. They will however face a big challenge in the first round. While Chaliha faces Hany Yue, Bansod faces another Chinese in Wang Zhi Yi.

Aakasrshi Kashyap will also be in action on the day. She takes on the top seed and World No.1 Aakarshi Kashyap.

Where to watch Malaysia Masters 2023 LIVE Streaming?

All the matches can be watched LIVE on BWF TV’s Official YouTube Channel BWF TV.

Malaysia Masters Highlights: PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy & Lakshya Sen enter 2nd round

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