PV Sindhu Exits Malaysia Open After Semifinal Loss

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 10 January 2026

• PV Sindhu was defeated in the women’s singles semifinals in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament
• She was defeated in straight games by China’s Wang Zhiyi
• Sindhu struggled with consistency and committed a host of unforced errors

PV Sindhu’s campaign at the season opener Malaysia Open Super 1000 has come to an end as she suffers a straight game defeat at the hands of China’s Wang Zhiyi in the women’s singles semifinal on Saturday.

The two-time Olympic medalist was defeated 16-21, 15-21 by the world number 2 in a match she was set to play after overcoming an injury she has been nursing since October last year, which saw her sit out. This also marks the end of Indian representation at the Malaysia Open.

Sindhu started the match positively, being quite aggressive and relying on her reach and might to take the lead.

She built up a 5–2 lead through some remarkable cross-court smashes before Wang-levelled the score through some composed play. Some errors from Wang gave Sindhu a slight advantage to go ahead 9–7, but Wang soon rallied to take a slim lead at the mid-game break while Sindhu struggled at the net.

Both players found it difficult to get into rhythm after the reboot, and points went astray in the backcourt as they were level at 13-13. From 15-14, Wang increased her level of intensity by unleashing powerful shots and strategically placed lifts to pull away.

She took the lead to 18-14 and, although she lost a rally, she gained several game points before clinching the first game when Sindhu put it wide.

In the second match, Sindhu began lagging behind because of errors, but she quickly leveled and took a lead of 6-3. She continued to dominate and pinched the corners of the court to the extent that she took an advantage of 11-6 into the interim.

Wang retaliated in the next stint, and despite having slightly faster rallies, she remained behind by a narrow margin of 13-9.

However, the momentum swung again as Sindhu started missing her spots, allowing Wang to level at 13-13 before moving ahead.

Sound net play, coupled with the force exerted by the Chinese shuttler, opened a significant gap, while a number of mistakes by Sindhu gave Wang a number of match points. The match ended when Sindhu hit a return wide, thus confirming Wang's entry into the final.