After Cricket, now it’s time for Badminton.With stage set for the curtains to be raised on the Vodafone Premier Badminton League Season 2 powered by Maruti Suzuki, on January 1, 2017, the stakes are at all time high with six teams vying for a prize purse of INR 6 Cr and a glittering trophy.
Olympic Silver Medalists and Chennai Smashers player PV Sindhu along with Mrs Alka Das Gupta, BAI President Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta and P Gopichand during Opening ceremony of Vodafone Premier Badminton League -2
The badminton carnival which will kick start at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, will see the local team Hyderabad Hunters open their campaign against Chennai Smashers and will see two of the best players of the current era Carolina Marin (Hyderabad Hunters) and PV Sindhu (Chennai Smashers) on the collision course.
While this match for sure will be one of the highlights of the fortnight long league, it will have lot more to offer considering the teams and the rich field of players. All the six teams that are in fray look the well balanced and none of the teams could be term as a favourite going into the league.
Hunters’ who finished fifth in last year’s edition has made their intent very clear of going for the kill this season and have assembled a quality side which is highly capable of winning the title. Olympic champion Marin will headline the team in the league and a lot will expected of her after a great year on the international calendar. While her presence will be a huge boost, lot will also depend on the how the trio of Rajiv Ouseph of England and Indian pair of Sameer Verma and B Sai Praneeth perform in the tournament. They will be the ones who will represent the team in the men’s single matches and with two points dedicated to the men’s single event in the tournament, it will be very crucial that they perform to the best of their ability. They are also very well covered in the doubles competition, with current World No.1 Tan Wee Kiong and former World No.1 Tan Boon Heong forming up a formidable doubles partnership. The presence of upcoming Indian doubles specialist Satwik Sairaj will also add to the team’s depth in the doubles section.
Smashers, the semifinalists of last edition, they will be all eager to go the distance this year and to get their job done; the team has instilled their faith on Sindhu and retained her to lead the team. Sindhu, going through a purple patch will play a huge role in the team’s success and her performance would matter a lot for the team during the course of the tournament. They also have the experienced P Kashyap, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and Tommy Sugiarto in their ranks who will for sure add a lot of teeth in their men’s singles department, while the mixed doubles competition will be spearheaded by the English pair of Gabrielle Adcock and Chris Adcock.
Defending champions Delhi Acers in a bid to win the title for the second time will step on the court with a fairly new-look squad. With the presence of Danish heavyweight Jan O Jorgensen and South Korea’s Son Wan Ho, they will be one of the most dreaded in the tournament as far as the men’s singles matches will be concerned. A lot will depend on how these two perform during the course of the tournament. A lot would also be dependent on Jwala Gutta, the ace Indian doubles specialist, who will not have to shoulder the responsibility of leading the team from the front in the mixed doubles. If she performs to the best of her abilities, it will for sure give Acers a great chance of retaining the championship.
The runners-up from last edition, Mumbai Rockets’ title hunt will be lead by Indian duo of Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy and the Korean superstar Sung Ji Hyun. While Jayaram and Prannoy will ply their trade in the men’s singles competiton, Ji Hyun who had a good run on the international calendar will have to translate her good form in the league to help the Rockets to their maiden title. Apart from them, the Rockets also have the experience Korean veteran Lee Yong Dae and he will be expected to deliver the goods in the doubles competition for the team. Former World No.1 mixed doubles player Nadeizda Zeiba will be another player to watch out for in the Rockets’ squad.
The semi finalists of last season Awadhe Warriors will be looking to rejuvenate their last year’s form and go a step further in this year’s tournament. Warriors as a team have instilled a lot of faith on the Indian players and the fact that they have Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth is a proof to that. Both the players have had an injury laden season and will look to get back to the best of their forms as their fate will depend on lot on how these two perform during the league. And apart from them, they have all the required ammunition to fire the team to the championships. The likes of Bodin Isara, V Shem Goh, Savitree Amitrapai and Markis Kido have the ability to light up the court on any given day and for sure will pose a strong challenge to all the others team in the doubles matches.
Bengaluru Blasters were the bottom placed team last season and that is one of the main reason they have a new look squad going into this year’s tournament. With an eye on the trophy, the Blasters have drafted in the Rio Olympics bronze medalist Viktor Axelsen of Denmark to deliver the goods for them in the tournament. Apart from the Dane, their men’s singles department boasts of Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and India’s Saurabh Verma. The doubles segment will be spearheaded by the experienced Ashwini Ponnapa of India and Korean duo of Ko Sun Hyun and Yoo Yeon Seong and Blasters’ fortune will depend a lot on their on-court camaraderie.
With all six teams ready with their strategies and waiting to fire on all cylinders, it for sure will be a better and more exciting season than the last year and the fact that nothing could be predicted till the final day will make the league more challenging.
“It is going to be a wonderful edition of the PBL, considering the kind of players that will be in action and I am very sure the fans will be in for a real treat. It will be a very highly competitive tournament and all the six teams have equal chances of winning the trophy. Every team has their set of players who on their day can beat any player. I cannot wait for the league to begin and hope that may the best team,” win. All the best to all the players and the teams,” Badminton Association of India president Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta said.