PBL 2: Marin on roll but Hyderabad Hunters falter

Hyderabad: Carolina Marin continued her brilliant run in the Premier Badminton League with another stylish win for the Hyderabad Hunters against the Awadhe Warriors here on Monday.

A day after cutting silver medallist P.V. Sindhu to size, the Olympic champion swept aside Saina Nehwal to keep her slate clean in the tournament. Marin’s Monday victory was in tune with her style — a bitter fight initially before overwhelming her opponent as the 15-14, 11-5 scoreline suggests.

Earlier, Sai Praneeth got the Hunters to a roaring start but could not wrap it up. Squaring up against a higher ranked Wing Ki Vincent Wong, the Hyderabad lad took the first game 13-11, lost the next 6-11 and almost pulled it off in the decider before going down narrowly at 11-13.

Later, the Warriors’ trump pair of Savitree Amitrapai and Bodin Isara defeated Hoi Wah Chau and Satwik Sariraj Rankireddy 11-9, 12-10 in the mixed doubles before Srikanth Kidambi turned tables on Rajiv Ouseph in the second men’s singles 11-13, 11-7, 13-11 to give Awadhe an unassailable 4-1 lead with the men’s doubles still left to play.

The first game of the women’s singles was a thriller with Saina and Marin at each other’s throats. They smashed, cut and went for the kill as the scores moved neck and neck and into the two-point-lead-to-win zone before finally getting locked up at 14-14 for a game point-all situation.

That tightened the nerves and both players tried to keep the shuttle in play before Marin seized the chance to let rip a crosscourt smash that Saina could only watch fall into the empty court to her left.

That was enough to boost the hyperactive Spaniard, who rattled a 7-0 lead in the second game before Saina engaged her in a remarkable rally that Marin won with a deft drop. It was only then that Saina got her first point of the game courtesy a Marin error. Another smashing winner was all Saina could muster in the game before Marin spiked a wristy flick down and then sealed the match with a hard smash to break into ecstasy.

“Thank you to this amazing crowd and Hyderabad Hunters,” the winner said after the match, adding “I am happy to play against an opponent like Saina.”

Saina attributed her loss to injury and conditions. “I am coming back from an injury. Also, I am not happy with the conditions here, which Carolina is used to,” she said.