Day 3 of the Malaysia Open 2026 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur saw PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty maintain their clinical form to march into the quarterfinals, while the men’s singles campaign came to an end after Ayush Shetty and Lakshya Sen went down following hard-fought matches.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu smashed past Japan’s rising star and World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki in straight games, winning 21-8, 21-13 in 33 minutes, continuing her quest for the Super 1000 event. Going into the match, the first game was a cakewalk for India’s former world champion. With her deft returns at the net and deep smashes to the baseline, she left Miyazaki guessing, forced several unforced errors, and easily sealed the game in just 13 minutes.
In the second game, proceedings saw some good returns and deceptive play from the young Japanese to match the pace, but she committed several unforced errors while trying to force Sindhu onto the baseline. The Indian held an 11-8 lead at the break. After the interval, Sindhu was proactive on the front court and tricked the Japanese with sharp net play and good control at mid-court, earning seven match points before closing out the contest and entering the quarterfinals of the Super 1000 event, where she sets up a clash with another Japanese star, Akane Yamaguchi—an opponent whom Sindhu last edged in 2022.
In men’s doubles, the destructive Indian duo Satwik-Chirag continued their dominating start to the new season. Facing the local Malaysian pair of Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King, the third-seeded Indians displayed amazing synergy in front of a partisan Malaysian crowd to win 21-18, 21-11 and extend their head-to-head record against Arif and Yap to 4-0.
The Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallists faced little challenge from the hosts in the opening game as the Malaysians matched them point-for-point with flat exchanges and the score was tied at 18-18 before Chirag controlled the front court with sharp interceptions and Satwik unleashed strong smashes, winning consecutive points.
In the second game, they started with their usual aggressive play and did not let the Malaysians settle. After the mid-game interval, the Indians accelerated with precise cross-court smashes and clever placements, taking points in clusters to win the match. Up next, they will face Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri.
Men’s Singles
Young Ayush Shetty gave a gritty performance against China’s reigning world champion and top seed Shi Yuqi. After defeating Lee Zii Jia in the opening round, the 20-year-old pushed China’s World No. 1 to the limit in the first game and won the second. In the decider, the experienced Shi Yuqi elevated his game and pulled away, showing tactical maturity to win 21-18, 18-21, 21-12.
World No. 13 Lakshya Sen crashed out in the second round, losing 22-20, 21-15 to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in straight games.
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