Premier Badminton League: Bengaluru Blasters set up final vs Hyderabad Hunters - Hindustan Times
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Premier Badminton League: Bengaluru Blasters set up final vs Hyderabad Hunters

Press Trust of India, Hyderabad | ByPress Trust of India
Jan 13, 2018 11:57 PM IST

Bengaluru Blasters set up a Premier Badminton League final clash vs the Hyderabad Hunters with a hard-earned win over the Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the second semi-final in Hyderabad today.

Bengaluru Blasters set up a potentially explosive championship match with Hyderabad Hunters after notching up a hard-fought victory over Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the second semi-final of the third Premier Badminton League here today.

Bengaluru Blasters (in yellow) set up a Premier Badminton League final clash vs the Hyderabad Hunters with a hard-earned win over the Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the second semi-final.(PBL)
Bengaluru Blasters (in yellow) set up a Premier Badminton League final clash vs the Hyderabad Hunters with a hard-earned win over the Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the second semi-final.(PBL)

The Blasters’ star player Viktor Axelsen and their Mixed Doubles’ pair of Kim Sa Rang and Sikki Reddy won the last two matches of the contest to beat a valiant Ahmedabad Smash Masters 3-2 (4-3 on points).

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The final will take place at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium tomorrow.

Earlier, Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying came back from an error- prone defeat in the first game, to win her crucial Trump match and keep the Smash Masters alive in the tie.

The World No. 1 beat a fighting Kristy Gilmour (Scotland) 2-1 in the Women’s Singles, the third match of the contest, to give her side a 3-2 advantage on points.

Tai Tzu took the early lead 4-2 but soon started making too many mistakes, allowing Gilmour to catch up 6-6. She almost looked helpless as Gilmour kept picking up easy points to lose the opening game at 9.

She fell behind in the second game too, giving Gilmour a whiff of victory. But then she was suddenly on song, smashing with accuracy to level the scores at 12-12 and win it at 13.

Tai Tzu dominated the third game, racing away to a 8-5 lead. She wrapped up the remaining points too quickly to win at 8.

The Blasters’ World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, however, levelled the tie 3-3, getting the better of HS Prannoy in the second Men’s Singles.

It proved to be an easy 15-11, 15-14 victory, even though he had to douse a rousing fight from Prannoy in the second game.

The tall Dane even had to ward off a game point after the two players matched each other all the way till 13-13.

Kim Sa and Sikki beat Law Cheuk Him and Kamilla Rytter Juhl 15-12, 13-15, 15-9 to the delight of the Blasters’ fans.

Earlier, India’s Sourabh Verma set the ball rolling for the Smash Masters, overcoming Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng 2-1 for the first point. The World No. 17 smashed his way to an easy 15-2 win the opening game.

The second game was much tighter, with Chong Wei defending a lot more confidently. Sourabh fell behind 6-9 but caught up with a flurry of strokes at 13-13. They exchanged one more point each to make it 14-14.

But Chong Wei came up with a perfect smash to win it. Sourabh was back at his best in the decider, even though Chong Wei stayed with him till 9-9. Sourabh picked up a four-point lead to change the momentum. He eventually won 15-10.

The Blasters jumped ahead to a 2-1 lead in the Men’s Doubles, with Kim Sa Rang & Mathias Boe taking the extra Trump point. The Hong Kong-Denmark duo were on top right from the start, with the No. 2 ranked Mathias Boe controlling the contest from the back of the court.

They beat Lee Chun Hei Reginald & K Nandagopal 15-13, 15 -12.

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