Malaysia Open: PV Sindhu to lock horns with former world champion Carolina Marin

The two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will face a tough challenge on her return from a five-month injury lay-off as the India shuttler will face former world champion Carolina Marin of Spain.

The battle is scheduled to take place on January 11 and will be quite interesting as Marin won the last three clashes against Sindhu. Besides this, the Spanish star also leads the head-to-head record against India 9-5.

The Indian shuttler was last seen at the Commonwealth Games in August 2022 where she suffered a stress fracture in her left ankle. As a result, he withdrew from the previous year's World Championships and World Tour Finals.

The Spaniard, who defeated Sindhu in the final of the 2016 Rio Olympics, has a 9-5 record against her Indian counterpart. They last met in the final of the 2021 Swiss Open where Marin won in straight games.

Saina Nehwal, Malvika Bansod and Akashi Kashyap will also be aiming to start the year on a bright note in the women's singles section in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, other Indian shuttlers such as HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen will aim to start the season on a positive note. The Indian shuttlers will join the big names including the world number one Viktor Axelesen, Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia, Akane Yamugachi, and Tai Tzu Ying in the USD 1,250,000 Super 1000 tournament.

The world 10 Sen will clash with compatriot and world number eight Prannoy in the opening round.

In addition to this, former world number one Kidambi Srikanth will start his campaign against Japan's unseeded Kenta Nishimoto.

Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, world number five and CWG gold medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirang Shetty will face South Korea's Choi Sol-Gyu and Kim Wan-ho in the first round.

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