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All eyes will be on comeback queen PV Sindhu as she returns to action at the Malaysia Open, a Super 1000 tournament that kickstarts the 2023 badminton season.
The Kuala Lumpur event, scheduled to take place from January 10-15, will see the two-time Olympic medalist playing for the first time since winning the Commonwealth Games women's singles gold medal in August last year.
However, it will not be an easy affair for the Indian as she has been drawn against Carolina Marin in the first round in a rematch of their blockbuster 2016 Olympic final.
Sindhu will have company in women's singles from former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal and youngsters Aakarshi Kashyap and Malvika Bansod. While Saina has World No. 11 Han Yue first up, Bansod and Kashyap face second seed An Se Young and Wen Chi Hsu, respectively.
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The men's singles category will see India's top two shuttlers, HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen, squaring off in a mouthwatering first-round showdown. Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, will take on World No. 17 Kenta Nishimoto in the opening round.
French Open men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have received the seventh seeding at this prestigious tournament. The World No. 5 pair face the ninth-ranked duo of Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in a tough opener.
Women's doubles bronze medalists at the Commonwealth Games, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, will meet the Hong Kong pair of Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam in the first round.
This will be the 66th edition of the Malaysia Open, which was held for the first time in 1937. Indians are yet to win any titles in this tournament so far, something they will hope to correct this year.
Indian badminton contingent at Malaysia Open 2023
Men's singles
Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and HS Prannoy
Women's singles
Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Malvika Bansod
Men's doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala
Women's doubles
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand, Ashwini Bhat K./Shikha Gautam
Malaysia Open 2023 schedule
The Super 1000 tournament will take place at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur from January 10-15.
The first-round matches will be held over two days from January 10-11. The second-round action will be completed on January 12.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals are scheduled to take place on January 13, 14 and 15, respectively.
Malaysia Open 2023: Where to watch & live stream details
The Malaysia Open 2023 will be broadcast live in India on the Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels. The matches can also be streamed live on Voot Select.
Live streaming is available on YouTube on BWF.TV in selected territories as well.
