KUALA LUMPUR: Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, two elite Indian shuttlers, suffered first-round exits from the season-opening Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur on January 10, 2023, continuing their dismal season.

Saina, a two-time Commonwealth Games champion who battled numerous injuries and lost her form in 2022,  went down 12-21 21-17 12-21 to Han Yue of China in the $1,250,000 Super 1000 tournament.

Saina, whose ranking has dropped to 30, battled back after dropping the first game in a women's singles first-round match to force a decider. The bronze medalist from the 2012 Olympics, however, fell behind as Han opened up a huge advantage to easily win the match.

The capitulation of former world number one Srikanth was more subdued. The unseeded Kenta Nishimoto of Japan startled the world championship silver medalist, who has also been off of form lately, 19-21 14-21 in 42 minutes.
The 13th-ranked Srikanth gave the first game his all, but Nishimoto eventually gained the upper hand.

In the second game, the two shuttlers were deadlocked at 12-12, but the Japanese then easily won the match.
Akarshi Kashyap's career was over after losing her opening match in the women's singles division to Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei 10-21 8-21.

ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup: India, Pak claim confidence winning

National Hockey Conclave to be held today at Konark

Hockey WorldCup: Looking forward to play aggressive performance in 2018 edition