Malaysia Open: Rejuvenated Indian shuttlers eye strong start to new season

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 5 (PTI) With renewed vigour, Indian shuttlers, including the experienced duo of Lakshya Sen and P V Sindhu, will eye a strong start to the year when they take on the world's best at the season-opening USD 1,450,000 Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament, beginning here on Tuesday.

Indian badminton endured a difficult 2025 marked by injuries and inconsistent performances at the top level. The focus is now on making an early impact and fine-tune preparations for next week's India Open Super 750 tournament in Delhi.

Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze-medallist, was the bright spot last season, returning to winning ways with a title at the Australian Open Super 500 after a lean run following his fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics.

The 24-year-old from Almora, who also reached the final of the Hong Kong Open, will look to carry that momentum when he opens against Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh.

Youngster Ayush Shetty too showed promise, winning the US Open Super 300, and will aim to address issues of consistency when he takes on Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia, the Paris Olympics bronze-medallist.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, however, endured a torrid phase due to fitness concerns and patchy form.

The former world champion, who missed competitions from October onwards while recovering from a foot injury, will be keen to rediscover her best when she opens her campaign against Chinese Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun.

Unnati Hooda, after showing flashes of brilliance in a season highlighted by her second Odisha Open title, will face Tokyo Olympics gold-medallist and fourth seed Chen Yu Fei of China.

Malvika Bansod, returning after a six-month layoff due to a left knee injury, will begin her campaign against seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, a former world champion.

Focus will also be on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded third, after the two became the first Indian men's pair to reach the semifinals of the season-ending World Tour Finals last year.

The former world No. 1 pair was India's most consistent in 2025, reaching finals of Hong Kong Open and China Masters besides winning a second World Championships bronze and multiple semifinal finishes.

The Asian Games champions will open their title quest against Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan.

Another Indian men's doubles pair of experienced M R Arjun and 22-year-old Hariharan Amsakarunan will look to step up against elite opposition after a season in which it won four International Challenge titles.

They triumphed at St Denis Reunion Open, Al Ain Masters, Türkiye International Challenge and Telangana India International Challenge.

The world No. 68 pair will face Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita in the opening round.

In women's doubles, Gayatri Gopichand, returning after a shoulder injury layoff, and Treesa Jolly recently defended their title at the Syed Modi International.

The duo will now take on Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, hoping to continue their upward stride.

Among others, the Panda sisters -- Rutaparna and Swetaparna -- will meet Malaysia's second seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, while three Indian mixed doubles pairs -- Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde and Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh -- will also be in action. PTI ATK PM ATK PM PM