PV Sindhu eyes strong return at Indonesia Masters 2026

New Delhi [India], January 19 (ANI): PV Sindhu will aim for a strong comeback as she spearheads India's campaign at the Indonesia Masters 2026 badminton tournament, beginning on Tuesday. The Indian star will be eager to regain form after suffering a first-round exit at last week's India Open on the BWF Tour against Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh, as per Olympics.com.
After the highs of a semifinal finish at the Malaysia Open earlier, Sindhu's 2026 season, which saw her return after an injury, faced a humbling low of a first-round exit in the India Open against Nguyen, giving her Vietnamese opponent a 3-2 head-to-head advantage. This marked her third triumph over the Indian badminton icon. Sindhu went down to Nguyen 20-22, 21-12, 21-15.
After her loss, Sindu credited the opponent and expressed hope about doing well at the Indonesia Masters 2026 tournament.
"It was not my day. There were good rallies. At top-level tournaments, everyone does play well. After winning the first set, I lost the second game. In the third game, it was 11-10, and from there she took a 2-3-point lead. It is time to go back and prepare for the next tournament.I hope I do well in Indonesia," Sindhu told reporters after her loss to the Vietnamese shuttler.
At the Indonesia Masters 2026, the veteran Indian shuttler Sindhu will be accompanied by Malvika Bansod, Tanvi Sharma and Unnati Hooda in the women's singles main draw.
On the other hand, another star India shuttler, Lakshya Sen, ranked world No. 14, will aim to build on the momentum gained from his quarterfinal finish at the India Open.
Sen suffered a defeat against Taiwan's Lin Chun-Yi in the men's quarterfinal in the Indian Open event. Sen won the opening game against Lin but then struggled, going down 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in the quarters.
Indonesia Masters 2026 badminton: India squad
Men's singles: Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth, Ayush Shetty, Tharun Mannepalli, Kiran George (Q)
Men's doubles: Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy-Sai Pratheek K (Q)
Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Malvika Bansod, Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda, Anmol Kharb (Q), Tasnim Mir (Q), Isharani Baruah (Q)
Women's doubles: Rashmi Ganesh-Sania Sikkandar (Q)
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto, Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde. (ANI)