In a very bizarre incident the matches at the Malaysia Open Super 1000, the year’s first major badminton event had to be suspended after water started to leak from the roof of the Kuala Lumpur venue. Play on Courts 2 and 3 was disrupted due to water droplets
HS Prannoy who was playing first-round clash against Canada’s Brian Yang on Court 3 had to stop playing midway due to roof lekage. The Indian shuttler, who was leading the match 21-12, 6-3, noticed water pooling near the front left section of the court, close to the net.
Earlier in the match, Yang had faced similar issues on the far side of the court, prompting officials to mop up the area. However, the situation worsened in the second set, with larger water splotches forming in a critical area where a right-handed player would typically execute backhand lunges.
Concerned about the increasing risk, Prannoy alerted the chair umpire, and his coach, RMV Gurusaidutt, also cautioned him about potential danger. The referee intervened, and both players left the court, with play halted for over 25 minutes as officials inspected the leak. Despite efforts, the delay stretched beyond 30 minutes however the match was suspended in the end.
Meanwhile, Court 2 faced even greater challenges, as officials resorted to using multiple towels to address the water accumulation. At the time of the disruption, Chinese players Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian were narrowly leading Malaysia’s Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing 11-10. Court 1 remained unaffected and continued as scheduled.
Indian shuttlers at Malaysian Open Super 1000
The Malaysia Super 1000 tournament kicked off on Tuesday, with India's top shuttlers aiming at winning the trophy. Leading the charge are India's leading men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, alongside Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy.
In women’s singles, PV Sindhu is absent following her recent marriage. Malvika Bansod faces Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei, Aakarshi Kashyap meets Denmark’s Julie Dawall Jakobsen, and Anupama Upadhyaya takes on Thailand’s eighth-seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong in tough openers.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, seeded sixth, will build on their recent successes against Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai.
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa face Japan’s Misaki Matsutomo and Chiharu Shida, while Rutuparna and Swetaparna Panda aim to make an impact.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto partners Dhruv Kapila, while other Indian pairs, include Sathish Karunakaran with Aadya Variyath and Ashith Surya with Amrutha Pramuthesh
