All eyes on Saina-Sindhu, Marin-Hyun battles in PBL semifinals
New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Badminton fans in the city will be up for a treat when star Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal of Awadhe Warriors and Chennai Smashers’s P.V. Sindhu face off in the semi-finals of the ongoing Premier Badminton League (PBL)A at the Siri Fort Auditorium here on Friday.
In the other semi-final, Hyderabad Hunters’s Carolina Marin will have an opportunity to avenge her loss to World No.4 South Korean Sung Ji Hyun of Mumbai Rockets, who defeated the Spanish World No.2 in their league encounter.
The draw for the semi-finals was decided after Hyderabad beat hosts Delhi Acers 5-2 in the last league match to confirm their semi-final berth against Mumbai.
Inspired by 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist Marin, Hyderabad romped home in the do or die tie against a lacklustre home side, to end up on the fourth spot with 14 points.
Top-paced Awadhe Warriors are on 21 points while Mumbai are second in the standings with 19 points followed by Chennai at 18 points.
For Delhi, it was the culmination of a rather dismal campaign, who ended the league stage with a single win to their name.Men’s singles star Jan Jorgensen was the only bright spot for the hosts as he won his trump match to give the rather sparse home crowd a fleeting hope of a Delhi fightback on Thursday.