MUMBAI: The fourth season of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) will begin with archrivals PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin’s women’s singles match at NSCI, Mumbai on 22 December this year, IANS reports.
Marin, who had defeated Sindhu in the Rio Olympics 2016 final to win the gold medal, has done the same in their last two meetings in the PBL so far. The Spaniard will represent the new Pune 7 Aces team, while the young Indian ace shuttler will be a part of her home city franchise, Hyderabad Hunters.
“I will be representing my own city and that makes this opening clash even more special. You can expect full-throated support from the Hunters which will prove to be our strength as we face Pune. I will look forward to play against Carolina and it will surely be a match to remember,” Sindhu was quoted as saying to IANS.
Interestingly, Marin was crucial in the Hunters winning the PBL Season 3 and will be taking on her former team first up.
“I am now part of a new team and yet another Indian city; you can expect me to give my 100 percent to Pune 7 Aces. As for the match against Sindhu, both of us will want to win our tie. My job is to play to the best of my ability and I will certainly do it,” she commented.
The badminton extravaganza will witness 30 ties being played including seven double headers this season; each city will be hosting one double header though Pune and Ahmedabad will see two of them this year.
“We have a new team in Pune 7 Aces and this season we will be playing in two new cities — Ahmedabad and Pune — keeping in mind BAI and PBL’s efforts to promote and take the game far and wide,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) President Himanta Biswa Sarma added.
Syed Modi International champion Sameer Verma-led Mumbai Rockets will open their campaign from Mumbai on 23 December. The Pune leg will witness yet another marquee clash between Sindhu and Saina Nehwal when Hyderabad Hunters meet North Eastern Warriors on New Year’s Day 2019.
India’s top-ranked Kidambi Srikanth-led Bengaluru Raptors will see the home leg starting from 7 January with the semi-finals and the final being played in the southern city.
H.S. Prannoy’s Delhi Dashers will play their first match against Mumbai while Chennai Smashers will kick off their campaign against Ahmedabad Smash Masters.
The 23-day event will witness nine teams Delhi Dashers, Ahmedabad Smash Masters, Awadhe Warriors, Bengaluru Raptors, Mumbai Rockets, Hyderabad Hunters, Chennai Smashes, North Eastern Warriors and Pune 7 Aces slugging it out for a prize purse of Rs 60 million in five cities with the inaugural rounds being held in Mumbai, followed by Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
