Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal will be in action at the 2023 Malaysia Masters, which will be held at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, from May 23 to 28.
Nehwal, who has slipped to 35 in the world rankings, will hope to put up a good show and get her confidence back. She had been struggling with injuries and pulled out of the national badminton selection trials for the upcoming Asian Games due to fitness issues.
She had earlier skipped the trials for Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship and also the trials for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
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Who will Saina Nehwal face in the Malaysia Masters?
Nehwal has been handed a tough draw and will face World no.1 Akane Yamaguchi in the first round.
How has Saina Nehwal fared against Akane Yamaguchi?
To date, she has played 13 times against the Japanese but has won only twice. The last time she came out on top was back in 2018 at the Denmark Open. In fact, she won quite comfortably 21-15, 21-17 in just 36 minutes.
How has Saina Nehwal performed in 2023?
Nehwal is yet to win any tournament in 2023. She crashed out of the Malaysia Open in the round of 32 after losing to Han Yue of China.
In the next two tournaments, the India Open and the Indonesia Masters, she performed marginally better and finished in the round of 16. However, in the Orleans Masters in April, she once again failed to cross the round of 32 stage after falling to Nesliham Yigit of Turkey.
What is the Malaysia Masters 500 tournament?
The 2023 Malaysia Masters, which is the tenth event in the 2023 BWF World Tour schedule, serves as the second Super 500 tournament of the season. The Badminton Association of Malaysia is responsible for organizing this competition, under the supervision and authorization of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Participants will have the opportunity to compete for a total prize pool of $420,000.
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