PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round but Saina Nehwal failed to cross the opening hurdle of the Malaysian Open World Tour Super 750 badminton tournament here today.

Sindhu staved off a spirited challenge from world No. 20 Aya Ohori 22-20 21-12 to record her sixth win over the Japanese. India Open finalist Srikanth beat Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21-18 21-16 in 38 minutes.

Fifth seed Sindhu will next face South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun, who beat the Indian in the first round of last month’s All England Open Championships. Srikanth will meet Thailand’s Khosit Phetpradab in the second round.

Eighth seed Saina, who came into the tournament after recovering from a pancreas infection, fought hard before going down 20-22 21-15 21-10 to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong. It was the world No. 9 Indian’s first loss to world No. 21 Chochuwong. HS Prannoy also bowed out after losing 12-21 21-16 21-14 to Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand.

In men’s doubles, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who had reached the semifinals of the India Open, also failed to cross the opening hurdle, going down 21-16 21-6 to seventh seeds Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong of China.