Malaysia Open Day 1 Roundup: Srikanth Kidambi and Saina Nehwal crashed out in the first round

Day 1 of the Malaysia Open 2023 has been a forgettable one for the Indian shuttlers as star baddie Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament in his Round of 32. 

In women’s singles, former world number one Saina Nehwal lost her match in the third game. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s victory was the highlight of the day as they progressed further in women’s doubles.

Here are the highlights of the Day 1 matches:

Men’s Singles

Kidambi Srikanth vs Kenta Nishimoto

Kidambi Srikanth was one of the biggest medal hopes for India in the ongoing Malaysia Open 2023 but he lost his first game in straight games, 19-21 and 14-21 against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.

It was a hard-fought battle for the ace badminton player and the defeat was unexpected. Srikanth started well in the first set but lost his momentum completely towards the end.

Women’s Singles

Saina Nehwal vs Han Yue

Saina Nehwal got a tough opponent in her first match in the form of Han Yue from China. Keeping Saina’s current form in badminton, this was a tough battle that she lost in the third game. 

Nehwal started on a poor note with 12-21 but came back strongly to win the second game with 21-17. However, the former world number one did not quite continue her momentum and lost the battle.

Aakarshi Kashyap vs Hsu Wen-chi

This was a terribly one-sided affair for the Taiwanese player as she defeated India’s Aakarshi Kashyap badly in the first round. Kashyap lost 10-21 and 8-21 crashing out of the tournament. 

With her defeat, the chances of a medal in the women’s category are now with PV Sindhu who will play her first match against Spain’s Carolina Marin. Malvika Bansod, too, will play her first-round match on the same day.

Women’s Doubles

Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly vs Yeung Nga Ting/Yeung Pui Lam

This was the only victory from India’s perspective on Day 1 of the Malaysia Open 2023 where Gopichand and Jolly got the better of Nga Ting and Pui Lam. The Indian pair defeated the Hong Kong pair 21-19 and 21-14 to move to the next round. 

Their next encounter is against the Bulgarian badminton pair Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva on Wednesday. Jolly and Gayatri are one of the most formidable women pairs in the world and definitely, India’s biggest medal hopes in the ongoing Malaysian Open 2023.

Men’s Doubles

Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala vs Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae

The Indian pair of Panjala and Garaga lost to the South Korean pair of Kang and Seo 10-21, 18-21 in the first round of the Men’s Doubles. The pair looked lean in the first game but tried their level best in the second game.

But unfortunately, that was not enough for them to beat the 18th-ranked South Korean pair. India’s hopes are now with Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy for the medal in this category.