Hyderabad: The star studded Premier Badminton League season 2 is all set to kick off at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Sunday with the Hyderabad Hunters taking on Chennai Smashers in a tie that boasts of several sub-plots, the prime one being the repeat of the Rio Olympics women’s singles final when P. V. Sindhu takes on Carolina Marin.
Hyderabad girl Sindhu will turn up for the Chennai Smashers though as Spaniard Marin tries to rally the home crowd behind her. The match will surely be a feast for spectators.
Having had to settle for silver at Rio, Sindhu would be yearning to beat Marin and avenge her loss in the Olympic final but knows well that the stubborn southpaw is quite a tough customer on the badminton court. It remains to be seen who pulls out the best punches on the day.
The new 11-point scoring system too makes for fast-paced action and leaves little room for recovery. Both players acknowledge that they have to be on their toes right from the start.
Hyderabad’s Sai Praneeth and Sree Krishna Priya are the other players in the Hunters side and could well run into their training mates Parupalli Kashyap or Sumeeth Reddy, who are representing the Chennai Smashers.
In another tie, Bengaluru Blasters will take on Delhi Acers. For Bengaluru Sourabh Verma would look forward to continuing his good run while Jwala Gutta of Delhi Acers will look for some early momentum and confidence for herself and her team.The Blasters would bank on Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and Sourabh Verma in the men’s singles category while Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen, Korea’s Son Wan Ho or India’s Siril Verma are likely to lead the charge in the men’s singles for Delhi Acers.
The teams
Hyderabad Hunters: Carolina Marin, B. Sai Praneeth, Rajiv Ouseph, Sameer Verma, Sree Krishna Priya, Satwik Sai Raj, Tan Boon Heong, Tan Wee Kiong, Chau Hoi Wah.
Chennai Smashers: P. V. Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, Tommy Sugiarto, Arundhati Pantawane, Chris Adcock, Mads Pieler Kolding, Sumeeth Reddy, Ramya Tulasi, Gabrielle Adcock.
Bengaluru Blasters: Viktor Axelsen, Boonsak Ponsana, Sourabh Verma, Gadde Ruthvika Shivani, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, Ashwini Ponnappa, Sikki Reddy, Yoo Yeon Seong, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, Ko Sung Hyun.
Awadhe Warriors: Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, Rituparna Das, Aditya Joshi, Vincent Wong Wing Ki, Bodin Isara, Goh W. Shem, Markis Kido, P. Sawanth, Savitree Amitrapai.
Delhi Acers: Jan O Jorgensen, Siril Verma, Son Wan Ho, Aakarshi Kashyap, Nitchaon Jindapon, Akshay Dewalkar, Ivan Sozonov, Vladimir Ivanoc, Jwala Gutta, Maneesha K.
Mumbai Rockets: Ajay Jayram, H. S. Prannoy, Shreyansh Jaiswal, Sung Ji Hyun, Vrushali Gummadi, Chirahg Shetty, Lee Yong Dae, Nipithphon Phuangphuapet, Mohita Sahdev, Nadiezda Zeiba.
