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Premier Badminton League: Season four all set to begin in Mumbai
The upcoming edition of the badminton league will feature an impressive total of 90 players from 17 nations, that includes eight Olympic medallists and eight players ranked in top 10.
The fourth season of Premier Badminton League (PBL) promises to be a notch higher from the previous editions with the addition of Pune 7 Aces, making it in a 9-team affair. The upcoming edition of the badminton league will feature an impressive total of 90 players from 17 nations, that includes eight Olympic medallists and eight players ranked in top 10 vying for the top honours and the coveted PBL trophy.
The 23-day extravaganza will be played across five venues, with Ahmedabad and Pune hosting matches for the first time. The league will see 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 6 crore in five cities with the inaugural rounds being held in Mumbai, followed by Hyderabad Pune, Ahmedabad and semis and finals in Bengaluru.
“I love coming to India and playing PBL. Two years of playing for Hyderabad has been very special and looking forward to my journey with the Pune 7 Aces. As for the match against (P.V.) 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 give her no room,” said 2018 World Champion Carolina Marin, who will be turning out for Pune 7 Aces this season.
“PBL has gotten bigger with every season and the growth in the fan-following of the sport serves as a testament to it. With an objective to unearth and cultivate more talents, PBL has been really clinical in providing a platform to the youngsters and preparing them for the journey ahead. The league provides a unique opportunity, with some of the biggest names sharing the court with the youngsters, which in turn provides them with a steady learning curve,” said BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Teams and Squads
Hyderabad Hunters: Team Captain: PV Sindhu
Men’s Singles: Lee Hyun Il, Rahul Yadav Chittaboina, Mark Caljouw, Women’s Singles: PV Sindhu,Sai Uttejitha Rao,Men’s Doubles: Kim Sa Rang, Arun George, Bodin Issara, Mixed Doubles: Eom Hey Won, Meghana Jakkampudi
Mumbai Rockets: Team Captain: Lee Yong Dae
Men’s Singles: Sameer Verma, Andres Antonsen, Pratul Joshi, Women’s Singles: Shriyanshi Pardeshi, Anura Prabhudesai, Men’s Doubles: Manu Attri, Lee Yong Dae, Kim Gi Jung, Mixed Doubles: Pia Zebadiah, Kuhoo Garg
North Eastern Warriors: Team Captain: Saina Nehwal
MS: Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, Tian Houwei, AS Siril Verma, WS: Saina Nehwal, Rituparna Das, MD: Yoo Yeon Seong, Liao Min Chun, Dhruv Kapila, XD: Kim Ha Na, Kukkapalli Maneesha
Pune 7 Aces: Team Captain: Mathias Boe
MS: Brice Leverdoez, Lakshya Sen, Harsheel Dani, Ajay Jayaram, WS: Carolina Marin, Line Kjaersfeldt, MD: Vladimir Ivanov, Mathias Boe, Chirag Shetty, XD: Prajakta Sawant
Chennai Smashers: Team Captain: Sung Ji Hyun
MS: P Kashyap, Chong Wei Feng, Rajiv Ouseph, WS: Sung Ji Hyun, Saili Rane, MD: Or Chin Chung, Chris Adcock, B Sumeeth Reddy, XD: Gabrielle Adcock, Rutaparna Panda
Ahmedabad Smash Masters: Team Captain: Viktor Axelsen
MS: Sourabh Verma, Viktor Axelsen , Daren Liew, WS: Kirsty Gilmour, Vaishnavi Bhale, MD: Lee Chun Hei Reginald, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, K Nandagopal , XD: SikkiReddy, Anoushka Parikh
Awadhe Warriors: Team Captain: Son Wan Ho
MS: Guru Sai Dutt, Son Wan Ho, Lee Dong Keun, WS: Rasika Raje, Beiwen Zhang, MD: Lee Yang, MR Arjun, Mathias Christiansen, XD: Ashwini Ponnappa, Sanyogita Ghorpade
Bengaluru Raptors: Team Captain: K Srikanth
MS: K Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth, Mithun Manjunath, Nygun Tein Minh, WS: Vu Thi Trang, MD: Hendra Setiawan, Marcus Ellis, Mohammad Ahsan, XD: Lauren Smith, Sanjana Santosh
Delhi Dashers: Team Captain: HS Prannoy
MS: HS Prannoy, Chirag Sen, Tommy Sugiarto, WS: Evgeniya Kosetskaya, MD: Chai Biao, Maneepong Jongjit, Wang Sijie, Vighnesh Devlekar, XD: Lee Chia Hsin, V Harika
