Indian badminton superstar PV Sindhu's comeback from injury was cut short by former Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the first round of the Malaysia Open 2023 on Wednesday. The two old rivals battled hard for 59 minutes before the Spaniard completed a 21-12, 10-21, 12-15 win to send the sixth seed packing.
It is important to note that this was Sindhu's first match since winning the women's singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last August. She sustained a stress fracture on her ankle on her way to glory, which kept her on the sidelines for the last five months.
The World No. 7 was initially supposed to return to action at last month's BWF World Tour Finals. However, she postponed it further in favor of the ongoing Super 1000 event.
Unfortunately, the draw at the Malaysia Open turned out to be unkind for the two-time Olympic medalist.
Former World No. 1 Carolina Marin, now ranked ninth, can be a formidable opponent for any of her rivals on her day and she proved it once again. Although PV Sindhu did eke out the middle game, the southpaw was on fire in the decider.
The face-off between the two former world champions naturally set social media abuzz. Badminton fans on Twitter pointed out how it was an encouraging performance from the Indian despite her loss and, at the same time, lauded Marin for her heroics.
Some noted how Sindhu got better in the longer rallies as the match progressed. One of them wrote:
"Despite the loss, it was a promising return to competitive action for PV Sindhu for the first time since her golden run at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. A reasonably hard-fought win for Carolina Marin in a minute shy of an hour"
Here are some of the best reactions:
PV Sindhu will next be seen in action at the India Open
PV Sindhu will soon get a chance to make amends after her fighting loss at the Malaysia Open. She will next be seen in action at the India Open, a Super 750 tournament set to be held in New Delhi from January 17-22.
The 2017 champion has received the fifth seeding in the event and faces World No. 21 Supanida Katethong in the first round.