PBL 2016 - Saina inspires Awadhe Warriors to register first victory
The return of star player and World No.2 Saina Nehwal inspired Awadhe Warriors to a 4-3 win against Delhi Acers for their maiden victory of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2016 at Lucknow on Monday.
The match got under way with the men’s singles between Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Awadhe and Tommy Sugiarto from Delhi. Tommy got his team to a winning start with an easy victory 15-13, 15-11 against Tanongsak.
Awadhe captain Saina Nehwal took up the mantle of bringing the team back by calling it a trump match and took to court against P C Thulasi. She was playing her first match in PBL after opting out against Mumbai Rockets due to injury concerns.
Thulasi got off to a good start and took an early 5-2 lead to push the injured Saina onto the back-foot, but failed to maintain her run. Saina came back strongly to win eight straight points aided by a few unforced errors by Thulasi and a couple of good placements by herself to make it 10-5. At 6-10, both the players engaged in a 46-shot long rally, in a match-up of wits and perseverance, ending with Thulasi finally succumbing to the pressure with an unforced error. Saina soon closed the game at 15-9.
Saina continued her fine run and created a four-point advantage at 6-2. The Kerala lass made a quick come-back to close down the gap to 9-10, but failed to hold on as Saina raced away with four quick points to reach her first match point at 14-9. Saina wrapped up the match on the second occasion 15-10 to grab two crucial points for her team to make it 2-1.
Awadhe Warriors increased their lead to 3-1 after Cai Yun and Bodin Isara defeated Tan Boon Heong and Koo Kien Keat 15-12, 15-14 in the men's doubles match.
The Warriors confirmed their maiden victory of the tournament in the next tie with Sai Praneeth registering an upset win over World No. 17 Rajiv Ouseph 15-12, 15-9.
In the final tie, Delhi Acers used the trump card to close the gap on the winners with Akshay Dewalkar and Gabrielle Adcock beating Hendra Gunawan and K Maneesha 15-14, 13-15, 15-5.
Awadhe Warriors vs Delhi Acers 4-3
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Men’s Singles: Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk vs Tommy Sugiarto 13-15, 11-15
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Women’s Single: Saina Nehwal* vs P C Thulasi 15-9, 15-10
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Men’s Doubles: Cai Yun/ Bodin Isara vs Tan Boon Heong/Koo Kien Keat 15-12, 15-14
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Men’s Single: B Sai Praneeth vs Rajiv Ouseph 15-12, 15-9
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Mixed Doubles: Hendra Gunawan/ K Maneesha vs Akshay Dewalkar/Gabrielle Adcock* 14-15, 15-13, 5-15
(* signifies trump match)
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