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Both the leading ladies of Indian badminton – Pusarla Venkata Sindhu and Saina Nehwal – are off to a good start in 2020 after winning their opening round matches in the BWF World Tour Malaysia Masters 2020 Super 500 event.
Sindhu, playing on court 2, won in straight games, 21-15, 21-13 against Russia’s Evgeniya Kosetskaya, in just 35 minutes. Saina also had a straight games win over Belgian Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17, in merely 36 minutes.
Both Sindhu and Saina have a poor record in World Tour events and hence need to get some big victories under their belt. While Saina won just one World Tour event last year, that too due to Carolina Marin being forced to withdraw due to an ACL injury in the final, Sindhu failed to capture even one World Tour title.
In 2018 also, Sindhu won the BWF World Tour Finals but hadn’t won any World Tour event. However, the shuttler from Hyderabad has shown the incredible ability to raise her game to a very high level in major tournaments and perform superbly.
Saina though, is facing a tough time in her career. With success drying up, questions are being raised about her future. Despite having the assistance of her husband Parupalli Kashyap, who is usually courtside during her matches, she hasn’t been able to record decent success.
The success in first round is merely a start for both these players. Things are only going to get tougher from hereon. Sindhu has the easier road ahead as her possible opponents in the next round are Busanan Ongbamrungphan and Aya Ohori.
Saina has a tougher challenge as she may have to face the rising star of women’s singles badminton An Se Young in the next round. Of course, for that An would have to win her first-round match. Interesting times lie ahead for both these players.
Get the full Malaysia Masters 2020 Results
