Mumbai: Mumbai Rockets got off to a winning start after Awadhe Warriors messed up tactically to lose the tie in their opening encounter of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the NSCI Sports Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
The Warriors paid heavily after they selected the wrong trump match, which technically cost them the tie. In the opening game of the tie, Mumbai’s R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt showed character and gumption to fight back from one-game down to defeat B. Sai Praneeth 14-15, 15-10, 15-8 to open the points tally for the hosts.
In the second tie, Warriors looked to take a gamble as they selected the men’s double clash as their as their ‘Trump match’. The gamble backfired as the Cia Yun-Hendra Gunwan pair were clinically thrashed in straight games by Rockets’ duo of Mathias Boe and Vladimir Ivanov, who won 15-11, 15-11 to double the hosts’ lead.
Bengaluru train top guns on Hyderabad’s hunters
The Hyderabad Hunters will open their campaign at the Premier Badminton League against the Bengaluru Top Guns at the NSCI Sports Stadium here on Sunday. The Parupalli Kashyap-led Hunters are a force to reckon with as their squad has the likes of Lee Chong Wei, Markis Kido, Carsten Mogensen and Jwala Gutta. With Kashyap recovering from an injury, the Malaysian former World No.1 Lee will play a crucial role in men’s singles. Jwala, who played for Delhi last time, will represent her hometown in mixed doubles. Hunters have a good mix of youngsters in Supanida K. (women’s singles), K. Nandagopal (men’s/mixed doubles), Meghana Jakkampudi (women’s mixed doubles) and Satwik Sai Raj (men’s/mixed).
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
