Malaysia Masters: Sindhu beats Gilmour to enter Rd-2; mixed pair of Sumeeth-Sikki also prevails

KUALA LUMPUR: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu moved to the second round of the Malaysia Masters after beating Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland, here at Axiata Arena on Wednesday.

Fifth seed Sindhu, who won the Malaysia Masters in 2013 and 2016, registered a 21-17, 21-16 win over the world no. 22 Scot.

This is the 28-year-old Indian's seventh tournament of the year. She returned from injury at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February. Sindhu recently sat out the Uber Cup and Thailand Open to focus on her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Youngsters Ashmita Chaliha, Unnati Hooda and Aakarshi Kashyap are the others Indians in the women’s singles main draw and they will be in the action later in the day.

In the mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikky Reddy defeated Lui Chun Wai and Fu Chi Yan of Hong Kong 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 to enter the second round.