Hyderabad: Badminton’s top names will be in action at Hyderabad as the second season of the Premier Badminton League kicks off here on the first day of the new year. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chennai will host the other legs of the event that will have eight Olympic medallists in the fray.
Olympic champion Carolina Marin and silver medallist P.V. Sindhu will square off once again as Marin will represent Sindhu’s hometown of Hyderabad while the Indian badminton ace turns up for Chennai. That match could be the biggest draw in the event that promises to be bigger and grander this time around.
“I am excited to play for Hyderabad at the PBL, which is an amazing league,” Marin, world no. 1, said via video conference from Madrid.
Hyderabad Hunters shelled out Rs 61 lakh for Marin at the players auction.
Back to the court, Marin said her match against Sindhu — a repeat of the Olympic final — will be good for the tournament as well as the fans.
Asked to rate Sindhu and Saina as opponents, Marin said: “They are different players. Sindhu is good with attack while Saina has quality in her shots.”
Sindhu on her part, said she was “looking forward to playing Marin again,” perhaps to avenge her loss in Rio. The tournament format has been trimmed. Matches will be of best of three 11-point games, infusing pace and adding a new twist to the two-week event that has Rs 3 crore for the winners, with the runners-up taking home half the sum. The third and fourth placed teams stand to gain Rs 75 lakh each.
The Indian field will be led by Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and B. Sumeeth Reddy (Chennai Smashers), Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth (Awadhe Warriors), Jwala Gutta (Delhi Acers), Ajay Jayaram (Mumbai Rockets), Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma (Hyderabad Hunters), Saurabh Verma (Bengaluru Blasters) along with pool of junior players in each team.
