Indian stars eye good outing at Malaysia Open

Srikanth and Sindhu had skipped the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in May to regain full fitness ahead of the hectic schedule which includes back-to-back tournaments such as the USD 1,250,000 Indonesia Open, USD 350,000 Thailand Open and USD 355,000 Singapore Open, followed by the prestigious Asian Games. 

Srikanth and Sindhu have been in good form as they returned with silver medals from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, but the fortnight-long multisport event also took a toll on their body and they worked hard on their fitness. 

After bagging four titles last season, fourth seed Srikanth will look to lay claim to his first crown of the season when he begins his campaign against former world number 2 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a recurring heel injury. 

Sindhu, who had finished as runner-up at India Open, will begin her campaign against Japan’s Aya Ohori and is expected to clash with Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the quarterfinals. 

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, too, seems to have got back her mojo as she defeated Sindhu in the final in Gold Coast to claim her second CWG gold medal. She gave ample glimpse of her fitness and form when she lost narrowly to Akane Yamaguchi during India’s clash against Japan at the Uber Cup Final. Saina, who was runner-up at Indonesia Masters, will also look to continue her good run when she faces Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin in the opening round.