Malaysia Masters: Sindhu Downs Gilmour To Reach Second Round

After a long break, returning to action, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made her way into the women’s singles second round match with a 46-minute win over Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Wednesday, 22nd May

Vignesh Bharadwaj

Updated on: 22 May 2024 12:41 pm

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, has shown signs of regaining her old touch. Photo: File

Sindhu, who had skipped the Uber Cup and Thailand Open showed no signs of rust and steamrolled the 22nd seed Scot 21-17, 21-16. The former world No.2 last won a title back at the Singapore Open in 2022 when she beat China’s Wang Zhi 21-9, 11-21, 21-15.

PV Sindhu, on history, is a no-brainer for being the medal bank but on current form? 2023 had been a rocky, rough and nightmare-ish with no titles to her name. 42% of her campaign saw her exit the event in the first round and the best performance came in Madrid.

Her Asian Games medal script was torn apart in the quarter-finals by China’s He Bingjio. With the odds stacked against her, can Sindhu put aside a worrying 2023 to make the podium in '24?

However, the game against Gilmour had clear signs of Sindhu regaining her form and confidence. India’s No.5, in a twinkling of an eye, was 7-1 up but the Scot eventually held up composure and had a bit of resurgence to come back 15-15.

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Sindhu, then, cut shot her renaissance to win six of the next eight points to take the first game.

The relentless Sindhu, after the change of sides, was as ruthless as ever and gained eight match points after she was 11-6 ahead. Sindhu closed out the game comfortably and progressed to the second round and will look to have a deep run to carry her confidence into Paris.