Malaysia Open 2023: Kidambi Srikanth vs Kenta Nishimoto preview, head-to-head, prediction & live streaming details

Badminton - Commonwealth Games: Day 10 — Kidambi Srikanth in action at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Kidambi Srikanth will begin the new season against 17th-ranked Kenta Nishimoto at the Malaysia Open 2023 on Tuesday, January 10.

Srikanth struggled for form following his medal win in Birmingham last year. It took him five tournaments to breach the Round of 16, which he did in his last competition of the season at the Hylo Open. The former World No. 1's run came to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of fourth-ranked Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

Srikanth will now be eager to build on what was an encouraging finish to last season.

Kidambi Srikanth vs Kenta Nishimoto: Head-to-head & prediction

Srikanth has a whopping 5-1 lead in the head-to-head against Kenta Nishimoto. The Japanese earned his solitary win over Srikanth at the Hong Kong Open in 2018.

Since then, the Pullela Gopichand protégé has gone on to beat Nishimoto at the Indonesia Open and the Indonesia Masters, both in 2019. Both those victories were breezy straight-game outings for the Indian.

Out of their six encounters, only once has the match stretched to the distance. It was at the Badminton Asia Championships 2018, which ended in favor of the Indian shuttler.

Srikanth's comfort level against the Japanese is thus obvious and he will fancy his chances of adding to his number of wins over Nishimoto when the two meet on Tuesday.

That said, the World No. 13 cannot afford to slacken as Nishimoto could be a dangerous opponent if given opportunities, something he showed by winning the Super 750 title at home at the Japan Open last year.