IBL inaugural season preview – Part 1: Hyderabad Hotshots, Awadhe Warriors, Banga Beats

The inaugural edition of the Vodafone Indian Badminton League kicks off on August 14. The $1 million league is a joint initiative of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Sporty Solutions Pvt Ltd.

The league will be a team event with a city-based franchisee teams from Hyderabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune fighting it out for the top honours.

The league format will be similar to Sudirman Cup, the prestigious world mixed team badminton championships. Each round will have five matches – men’s and women’s singles (two matches of men’s singles in a round), and men’s and mixed doubles.

Every team will play against each other once, and the top 4 will qualify for semi-finals to battle it out for a spot in the final at Mumbai on August 31.

In the first part of the IBL preview, we will cover the profiles of the teams from Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bangalore.

Saina Nehwal

1. Hyderabad Hotshots

Key facts:

Owners: PVP Group - Multi-business house based in Hyderabad, having interests in realty, media and entertainment. IBL is PVP Group’s first venture into sports.

Chief Coach: Rajendra Kumar – Coach at the Gopichand Academy

Host Stadium: Gachibowli Indoor Stadium

Icon Player: Saina Nehwal – World number 4 in women’s singles and 2012 Olympics bronze medallist

Hyderabad could be called as the badminton city of India, with the large number of international players who have won laurels for the country, being trained at the Gopichand Academy at Gachibowli.

Team Composition

The team is an excellent mix of youth and experience, and will begin the tournament as one of the favourites. Saina Nehwal and Taufik Hidayat need no introduction, and rising Indian star Ajay Jayaram will be a more than handy understudy to Hidayat.

Malaysians V Shem Goh and Khim Wah Lim are a regular mens’ doubles team, and can be expected to do well. Promising Indian players Tarun Kona and Pradnya Gadre will make the mixed doubles team.

Thai player Tanongsak and Indians Subhankar Dey and Kanthi Visalakshi complete the team’s line-up.

Strengths: Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles

Saina Nehwal is the highest ranked women’s singles player in the event, and would be expected to win all her games. She’ll have tricky games against Tai Tzu Ying of Banga Beats and PV Sindhu of Awadhe Warriors, but the Hyderabad team will back their icon player to come out winner in both these games.

The duo of V Shem Goh and Khim Wah are currently ranked world number 17 in men’s doubles, and will have the advantage of being a regular team.

Analysis of Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles

The experience Taufik Hidayat, who retired recently, is reported to be working hard on mainting his fitness levels for the IBL. He is likely to be the team’s first choice singles player. One between Ajay Jayaram and Tanongsak is likely to be selected for the second singles.

Hotshots will be best served if Hidayat plays the first men’s singles and wins it, and Jayaram or Tanongsak consolidate on that by winning their game.

In Tarun Kona and Pradnya Gadre, the team has a decent mixed doubles team. While Pradnya is a relative newcomer on the international circuit, Tarun has tasted some success in his pairing in mixed doubles with Ashwini Ponnappa. It’ll be interesting to see how the two young Indians fare as a team in the IBL.

Tournament schedule:

vs Awadhe Warriors – August 15vs Krrish Delhi Smashers – August 17vs Pune Pistons- August 19vs Mumbai Masters – August 22vs Banga Beats – August 27

Conclusion

Hyderabad Hotshots have a strong and formidable team, which is one of the pre-tournament favourites. If the star players (Nehwal, Hidayat, men’s doubles team) play to their potential, then the Hotshots stand a good chance of having a successful event.

PV Sindhu

2. Awadhe Warriors

Key facts:

Owners: Sahara India Pariwar – A diversified business house that has interests in finance, infrastructure & housing, media & entertainment, and many other domains. Sahara is a major promoter of sports in the country, being main sponsor of Indian cricket team and Indian hockey team. They own the Pune Warriors team in the IPL and also have a stake in Force India F1.

Chief Coach: Muhammad Hafiz Hashim - Former Olympian and All England Open champion

Host Stadium: Babu Banarsi Das UP Badminton Academy (BBD UPBA)

Icon Player: PV Sindhu – Bronze medallist at the 2013 BWF World Championships

Lucknow has been a traditional centre for nurturing badminton talent. The team will look to seek inspiration from one of India’s all-time greats, the late Syed Modi. Modi honed his badminton skills at Lucknow, and went to win gold medal in men’s singles at the 1982 Commonwealth Games.

Sahara India Pariwar, which is headquartered in Lucknow, has promoted sports actively in India and owning a team based in its hometown will be an added incentive for them to do well in the competition.

Team Composition

Fresh from her bronze medal performance at the World Championships, PV Sindhu will lead the team as its icon player, representing the team in women’s singles. Malaysian Weng Fei Chong (world number 15) and Indians Gurusai Dutt and K Srikanth will be vying to represent the team in the two men’s singles matches.

The men’s doubles team looks formidable in the team of Markis Kido and Mathias Boe. Representing the team in the mixed doubles will be the team of Nandagopal and K Maneesha. The duo were winners at the Maldives International.

Thai Taerattanachai and Indian youngster Ruthvika Shivani will provide good alternate/backup options to the team.

Strengths: Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles

PV Sindhu will look to continue her excellent form in the tournament; and the Awadhe Warriors will expect solid performances from the teenage sensation.

The team’s strength is in its men’s doubles team. Markis Kido is world number 4 in the format, and the recent signing of former world number 1 Mathias Boe makes the team a deadly one.

Analysis of Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles

In the men’s singles department, the team has Weng Fei Chong, Gurusai Dutt and Srikanth. While none of them is a world beater, each is an efficient player who can be expected to give his best if selected to play. Coach Hashim will have to decide which two out of the three plays in the men’s singles. Not having a top men’s singles player might backfire for the Lucknow team as many other teams boast big names in the format.

The team of Nandagopal and Maneesha will have advantage of having played together before in the mixed doubles format. Their victory at Maldives will be a boost to their confidence and they will be keen to put up a good show in the IBL.

Tournament schedule:

vs Hyderabad Hotshots – August 15

vs Banga Beats – August 18

vs Krrish Delhi Smashers – August 22

vs Mumbai Masters – August 24

vs Pune Pistons - August 26

Conclusion

Though the Awadhe Warriors can be only considered as dark horses in the tournament, they are very capable of springing up a surprise or two. Chances of reaching the semifinal stage are low, but an inspired show could lift the team into the knockouts.

Hu Yun

3. Banga Beats

Key facts:

Owners: BOP Group - Better Option Propmart Pvt. Ltd or BOP Group are India’s leading real estate consultants with presence across India, Dubai and Singapore

Chief Coach: Vimal Kumar - Former Olympian & National Chief Coach

Host Stadium: Kanteerva Indoor Stadium

Icon Player: Parupalli Kashyap – India’s top-ranked men’s singles player, winner of 2012 Indian GP

Home to Prakash Padukone, Bangalore has been a hub for nurturing talent at the legendary player’s Badminton Academy. Some of the finest Indian players have emerged from the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, including former All-England champion and current India coach P Gopichand, Aparna Popat and current players like Ajay Jayaram.

Team Composition

With a strong and balanced line-up, Banga Beats is a strong contender at the inaugural IBL. The franchisee boasts of two of the finest men’s singles players in Parupalli Kashyap and world number 6 Hu Yun of Hong Kong, upcoming women’s singles star Tai Tzu Ying, Spanish player Carolina Marin, and former world number 1 in men’s doubles Carsten Mogensen.

There is also some upcoming home talent in the team in the form of Aparna Balan, Arvind Bhatt, Akshay Dewalkar, Aditya Prakash, J Meghna and Daniel Farid.

Strengths: Men’s Singles and Doubles

The men’s singles will be played by Kashyap and Hu Yun, and Banga Beats will expect both of them to win all their matches, including those against quality opponents.

In Mogensen, the team has one of the best men’s doubles players in the world at the moment. He is likely to be paired with Akshay Dewalkar in the team’s matches, and it’ll be interesting how the Indo-Danish combo fares in the competition.

Analysis of Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles

Coach Vimal Kumar will have to choose between Tai Tzu Ying and Carolina Marin to represent the team in the women’s singles. Bangalore girl Aparna Balan is expected to play in the mixed doubles games, most probably alongside Mogensen.

Tournament schedule:

vs Mumbai Masters – August 15

vs Awadhe Warriors – August 18

vs Pune Pistons - August 23

vs Krrish Delhi Smashers – August 25

vs Hyderabad Hotshots – August 27

Conclusion

The team looks very strong on paper, and its fortunes in the competition will depend largely on the performances in the men’s singles and doubles matches. A good show from the women and mixed doubles will be a bonus for the team. If the team plays to its potential, it should be in the reckoning for a spot in the semi-finals.

Read part two of the preview covering Krrish Delhi Smashers, Pune Pistons and Mumbai Masters here.