Malaysia Masters badminton: PV Sindhu sets up quarter-final clash vs Tai Tzu Ying

India’s PV Sindhu eased past China’s Zhang Yi Man in her Malaysia Masters 2022 women’s singles second round match at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to set up a quarter-final clash against world No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei.

PV Sindhu, seventh in the badminton world rankings, took just 26 minutes to beat world No. 32 Yi Man 21-12, 21-10.

Up against Yi Man, a former world championships bronze medallist and an opponent she had never beaten before, PV Sindhu took control of the game early after winning seven points on the trot to race to a 9-1 lead.

It was smooth sailing from there on for the Indian badminton ace, who never trailed throughout the duration of the match.

The quarter-final clash against Tai Tzu Ying, however, will be a much tougher affair for the two-time Olympic medal-winning Indian.

PV Sindhu has a dismal 5-16 record against the Chinese Taipei shuttler and has not beaten her since 2019. Earlier this month, Tai Tzu Ying knocked PV Sindhu out of the Malaysia Open quarter-finals.

In her second round match, Tai Tzu Ying came from behind to beat Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei 16-21, 21-7, 21-9.

In men’s singles, both Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth bowed out after losing their respective second round matches in the BWF Super 500 badminton tournament.

While Kashyap submitted 21-10, 21-15 to Indonesian sixth seed Anthony Ginting, worlds bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth lost to Chinese shuttler Li Shi Feng 21-14, 21-17.

HS Prannoy, the world no. 19, later upset Chinese Taipei's world No. 16 Wang Tzu Wei 21-19, 21-16 to make his second quarter-finals in the Malaysia leg of the BWF World Tour. Prannoy had lost in the Malaysia Open quarters to Ginting last month.

Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan will be HS Prannoy's next opponent.