PBL 2018 | Delhi Dashers beat North Eastern Warriors to book semifinal place

North Eastern Warriors managed to win both their doubles clash but failed to stop Delhi Dashers, who won all their singles duels, as they moved on the last four. Before Delhi's trump win with Sung Ji Hyun, Wing Ki Wong Vincent and Tian Houwei emerged victorious in their respective single’s matches.

The World No. 15 showed a holistic display on the court in the first game which included a perfect quantity of smashes and delectable drops. In the second game of the match, Vincent seemed much relying on the net dribbles that gave a chance to the Indian shuttler to come back in the match and eventually win the second game, forcing the match to enter the decider. In the final game of the match, the Indian shuttler failed to continue his form after equaling seven-all, as Jayaram was fumbling with his net dribbles that made it all the easier for Vincent.

Houwei didn’t waste time to win the first game but it alerted Wei, who cleverly changed his strategy in the second game and played mostly from the centre so that he can easily cover the gaps that forced the game into the decider. In the third game, the Chinese ace showed terrific comeback as he managed to win the game despite trailing 2-9 and handed the first trump loss to the Warriors in the season so far.

It was a women’s single’s encounter next where Hyun put the final nail in North East’s coffin as she won Delhi’s trump game against Li 13-15, 15-11, 15-13. After losing the first game, Hyun came back in the second and forced it into a decider where Li fought hard. However, the Korean used her experience and kept her nerves, which eventually helped the Delhi team to secure the semifinal berth.