All you need to know about Malaysia Open 2022

The Super 750 event will be played after a two-year hiatus.

The Malaysia Open Super 750 is one of the most followed tournaments on the BWF World Tour. The event features the biggest powerhouses of the badminton world. The tournament is currently held at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The country recognises badminton as its national game which undoubtedly makes it the favourite sport there. The tournament contains total prize money of USD 675,000. Being a major event i.e. Super 750 of the World Tour, it offers an impressive 11,000 ranking points to its winner as well as 9,350 to the runner-up. The event is being held after a two-year hiatus after it was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

The Indian team has been a consistent participant at the Malaysia Open. However, no player has been able to win the title or secure a medal so far. The Indian shuttlers would be keen to make things work for them this season.

Men’s Singles

In the men’s singles, 2019 World Championship bronze medallist Sai Praneeth will be up against Olympic bronze medalist and sixth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. Whereas

Indian shuttler Sameer Verma will play seventh seed Jonatan Christie in the first round. H.S Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap will face Liew Daren of Malaysia and Heo Kwang Hee of Korea respectively. The draw seems to be a tight affair in the discipline for the players. They would look to strengthen their hopes to secure a medal for their country.

Women’s Singles

Two-time Olympic medalist and former World champion Pusarla Venkata Sindhu will lead the charge with former World no.1 Saina Nehwal in the women’s singles.

Sindhu, who is seeded seventh will begin her campaign against Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand. The former beat her opponent in the last encounter but the Thai player won’t be easy to deal with as she has never failed to penetrate Sindhu’s game effectively.

However, if the former World champion manages to clear the first-round hurdle, she would be likely to face the Olympic silver medalist Tai Tzu Ying in the quarter-final, who is an even more pulsating player considering Sindhu’s poor record against her. Thus, it seems a tempestuous ride ahead for the Indian ace.

On the other hand, Saina Nehwal will face Iris Wang of America. The former World no.1 might be able to clear her first round but she would be likely to face Nozomi Okuhara in the second round. Thus, it seems to be a tantalizing draw for both the Indian women.

Men’s doubles

The men’s doubles discipline witnesses the lone representatives Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty who have been seeded seventh in the top half of the draw of the Malaysia Open.

The Indian duo will have a golden chance to contest a semi-final or final considering their positioning in the draw. The India Open winners will play against the home pair of Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee. It seems to be a smooth journey for the pair up to the quarter-finals where they finally face some tough competition.

Women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

In the women’s doubles, the experienced pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy face sixth seed Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida who recently won the Indonesia Open. It will be a tough ask for the Indian pair as they have never beaten their opponents.

The other Indian pairs seem to be fairly young and lack the experience to deliver a jaw-dropping performance.

Talking about the mixed doubles, then the onus would be on B. Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa as they seem to have a great chance of sealing a quarter-final berth.

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