With the Premier Badminton League season 2 all set to roll from January 1, 2017, the venues for the sporting extravaganza has been decided with Hyderabad hosting the opening match, while the finals will be held in New Delhi on January 14 2017.
The event features six teams vying out for a prize purse of INR 6 Cr and will see Hyderabad Hunters and Chennai Smashers kickoff the season at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad. The tie is being billed as the clash of titans with Olympic champion Carolina Marin (Hyderabad) and Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu going against each other on the opening day.
After two days of action in Hyderabad, National Sports Club of India, Mumbai and BBD Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy will host the second and third leg respectively.
Koramangala Indoor Stadium will host the Bangalore leg as well as be the home stadium of Chennai Smashers. Chennai has not been included in the schedule this year due to unavoidable circumstances.
“We were very keen to extend PBL to Chennai this year, as it is one of the key markets for badminton in India. But unfortunately we have not been able to do it this year and we hope that from next year, Chennai and Tamil Nadu will become one of the key stops for PBL in the calendar,” Mr. Atul Pande, the Managing Director of SportzLive said.
The most coveted Badminton League in the country, PBL will then come to the capital for the last league match before hosting the semifinals (January 12-13) and the grand finale of January 14.
“We are excited to bring the PBL season 2 which is bigger, better and more exciting than the previous edition. With the kind of line-up that we have for this year’s edition, it has indeed given a rise to the popularity of the league even before it started. And it has been overwhelming to see the kind of response we have received so far in terms of ticket sales and we are expecting a full house at every venue,” Mr. Prasad Mangipudi, director of SportzLive said.
The detailed schedule is as mentioned below
Jan 1: (Hyderabad)—Hyderabad Hunters v/s Chennai Smashers
Jan 1: (Hyderabad)—Bengaluru Blasters v/s Delhi Acers
Jan 2: (Hyderabad)—Awadhe Warriors v/s Hyderabad Hunters
Jan 3: (Mumbai)—Bengaluru Blasters v/s Chennai Smashers
Jan 3: (Mumbai) — Delhi Acers v/s Mumbai Rockets
Jan 4: (Mumbai) — Hyderabad Hunters v/s Mumbai Rockets
Jan 5: (Lucknow) — Awadhe Warriors v/s Delhi Acers
Jan 6: (Lucknow) — Awadhe Warriors v/s Mumbai Rockets
Jan 7: (Bangalore) —Bengaluru Blasters v/s Hyderabad Hunters
Jan 8: (Bangalore) — Delhi Acers v/s Chennai Smashers
Jan 8: (Bangalore) —Bengaluru Blasters v/s Mumbai Rockets
Jan 9: (Bangalore) — Awadhe Warriors v/s Bengaluru Blasters
Jan 10: (Bangalore) — Mumbai Rockets v/s Chennai Smashers
Jan 11: (Bangalore) — Awadhe Warriors v/s Chennai Smashers
Jan 12: (Delhi) — Delhi Acers v/s Hyderabad Hunters
Jan 13: (Delhi) —SF 1
Jan 13: (Delhi) —SF 2
Jan 14: (Delhi) —Finals
PBL Facts:
Teams: 6
Cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai
Venues: Same as above
Dates: January 1-14 ’2017
No of matches: 18
No of players participating: 60 including 8 Olympic medallists
Broadcast Partner: Star sports & Hotstar
Ticketing Partner: Book My Show
Format: Best of 3 sets with 11 point sets
No of matches in each Tie: 5
Prize money: 6 Cr – winner – 3Cr, runner up -1.5Cr, 3rd and 4th place finish – 75 lakhs each