It has been more than a year since India’s top shuttler P V Sindhu won a title as 2025 was mostly a bag of mixed fortunes. The two-time Olympic medallist had shown flashes of brilliance as when she upset World No.2 Wang Zhiyi and then reaching reaching the BWF World Championships quarterfinals, but she also had some early exits in other tournaments. The consistency which was expected of a top-ranked player was missing last year. To make matters worse, a foot injury sustained mid-season led to her withdrawing from the remaining 2025 BWF Tour events for recovery.
A rejuvenated Sindhu will return to competitive action for the first time since last September at the Malaysia Open 2026 badminton tournament, which begins at the Stadium Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, according to Olympic.com.
The season-opener, a top-tier BWF Super 1000 tournament, will mark a fresh start for Sindhu. The 30-year-old Sindhu, 18th in the women’s singles BWF rankings, has not featured on the BWF World Tour since her quarterfinal loss to Paris 2024 Olympic champion An Se Young at the China Masters last September. She last lifted a title at the Syed Modi International Super 300 in December 2024.
India’s women’s singles challenge in Kuala Lumpur will also feature Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda. The 18-year-old Unnati will take on YF Chen in the round of 64 on Tuesday. Malvika, on the other hand, will have a tough first round as she is up against former World No.1 Ratchanok Intanon.
In men’s singles, Paris 2024 semifinalist Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty will carry Indian hopes. Both tasted success last year, Sen at the Australian Open Super 500 and Shetty at the US Open Super 300 but endured inconsistent seasons marked by multiple first-round exits.
India’s prospects in men’s doubles will be led by two-time world championships bronze medallists Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. ‘Sat-Chi’ are the third seeds at the Malaysia Open, a tournament they won back in 2024.
Meanwhile, India’s challenge in the women’s doubles event will be spearheaded by Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who head into the tournament after defending their title at the Syed Modi International tournament last month.
In the mixed doubles, Paris 2024 Olympian Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila are India’s top pairing at world No. 17.
