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Indian shuttlers will be eager to bounce back from the Sudirman Cup debacle at the Malaysia Masters 2023 that will be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 23-28. With this World Tour event heralding the start of the Paris Olympics 2024 qualifying period, there is extra importance attached to the Malaysia Masters this time around.
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Interestingly, the Indian contingent has only nine participants in the upcoming edition, with not a single doubles pair competing at this Super 500 tournament.
Former champion PV Sindhu will be leading the nation's challenge. Having won the event in 2013 and 2016, the two-time Olympic medalist will hope to get back to winning ways.
Sindhu is seeded sixth and will start off her campaign against World No. 28 Line Christophersen. The 11th-ranked Indian could run into third seed Ratchanok Intanon in the quarterfinals and seventh seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the semifinals. The latter is the player who got the better of Sindhu in the final of the Madrid Spain Masters earlier this year.
Due to the withdrawal of former winner Saina Nehwal, India's Aakarshi Kashyap has been promoted to the main draw and she now faces top seed Akane Yamaguchi in her opener.
In men's singles, HS Prannoy has the dangerous fifth-seeded Chou Tien Chen to take care of in the first round. The Keralite has a 3-6 losing head-to-head record against the Chinese Taipei ace, with his latest loss coming just over a week ago at the Sudirman Cup.
Lakshya Sen, too, doesn't have it any easier. The Commonwealth Games champion has drawn the seventh seed and former world champion Loh Kean Yew in the opening round.
Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, takes on World No. 27 Toma Junior Popov in the first round.
Four Indians will be seen in action in the qualifiers - S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, Mithun Manjunath (men's singles) and Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha (women's singles).
Malaysia Masters 2023: Format
The Malaysia Masters 2023 will be contested in all five categories - men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
Each category will see 32 contestants competing in the main draw, out of which 28 have been directly placed. Four qualifiers will join them in the main draw at the end of the qualifying rounds.
The main draw will see five rounds of action, culminating with the finals on Sunday, May 28.
Malaysia Masters 2023: Schedule
Qualifying rounds: May 23, 2023
First round: May 23-24, 2023
Second round: May 25, 2023
Quarter-finals: May 26, 2023
Semi-finals: May 27, 2023
Finals: May 28, 2023
Matches for the first few days are likely to start at 10 am local time / 7.30 am IST.
Malaysia Masters 2023: Where to Watch in India
The Malaysia Masters will be broadcast live in India on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels from Thursday, May 25. There is still no confirmation on whether the matches will be shown live on Voot Select and Jio Cinema.
Live streaming will be available on YouTube on BWF.TV.
Live scores can also be followed on the tournament software throughout the tournament.
Full list of Indian contingent playing at Malaysia Masters 2023
Men's singles
Main draw: Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy & Lakshya Sen
Qualifiers: S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, Mithun Manjunath
Women's singles
Main draw: PV Sindhu, Aakarshi Kashyap
Qualifiers: Malvika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha
