New Delhi: India’s challenge in men’s singles at the Malaysia Masters 2026 badminton tournament came to an early end on Wednesday after Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Tharun Mannepalli, and Kiran George suffered opening-round exits in Kuala Lumpur.
Playing at the Stadium Axiata Arena, Sen endured a straight-games defeat against Indonesia’s Zaki Ubaidillah. The Indian shuttler, ranked world No. 11, lost 21-17, 21-11 in a 43-minute contest after the Indonesian world No. 38 pulled away late in the opening game.
HS Prannoy, champion of the BWF Super 500 event in 2023, also bowed out despite a spirited fight against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, according to olympics.com.
After dropping the first game, the Indian battled back to force a decider by saving a match point in the second. However, Prannoy failed to convert four match points in the final game before losing 17-21, 22-20, 22-24 in a marathon clash lasting one hour and 20 minutes.
Mannepalli also failed to hold on to an early advantage and went down 21-17, 14-21, 8-21 against Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei. Kiran George, meanwhile, retired midway through his opening-round encounter against France’s seventh seed Alex Lanier, the world No. 10.
While India’s men’s singles campaign ended on a disappointing note, the women’s singles players produced better results to keep the country’s hopes alive in the tournament.
Malvika Bansod defeated German Olympian Yvonne Li 21-17, 16-21, 21-9 in a one-hour battle to move into the second round. Qualifier Ashmita Chaliha also advanced after registering a straight-games win over Indonesia’s Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan.
Devika Sihag joined them in the next round after edging past South Korea’s Park Ga Eun 19-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a closely fought contest.
However, several Indian women’s singles players failed to progress further. Anmol Kharb lost a hard-fought match against Denmark’s eighth seed Line Højmark Kjærsfeldt, while Tanya Hemnath suffered a straight-games defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ching Ping.
Tanvi Sharma was beaten by Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh, while Isharani Baruah lost to Danish fifth seed Line Christophersen in three games.
India’s women’s doubles campaign also came to an end after Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda suffered a heavy defeat against Japanese second seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, the world No. 7 pair. Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam had exited the competition earlier.
In mixed doubles, Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma progressed to the next round after overcoming Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie MacPherson in three games.
