As the 2016 badminton season has wrapped up for the top shuttlers, excitement is building up for the upcoming 2017 edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL), which is scheduled from January 1-14. Much to the delight of the badminton lovers, the six-franchise PBL2 will kick off with a highly-anticipated clash between India’s PV Sindhu and Spain’s Carolina Marin at the hub of Indian badminton in Hyderabad.
While Sindhu represents the Chennai Smashers, the Spanish southpaw, who is also the costliest player of this edition, is the face of the Hyderabad Hunters.
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Four months after meeting at the Olympic final, the two crossed swords recently at the Dubai World Superseries Finals in the round robin stage where the Indian avenged her Rio defeat in straight games. Suffice to say, fans will be eagerly waiting to see if the Indian can repeat her heroics this time as well against the former World No. 1.
On the same day, the newly-crowned Superseries Finals champion Viktor Axelsen will be in action as he leads the Bengaluru Blasters against the defending champions Delhi Acers. The latter have Axelsen’s compatriot Jan O Jorgensen and the face-off will be intriguing, to say the least.
Nehwal in action on January 2 against Marin
Saina Nehwal will take the court for the first time on January 2 when the Awadhe Warriors meet the Marin-led Hunters. The two haven’t met since the Indonesia Open in June and this will be one must-watch encounter without a doubt.
The PBL2 then moves to Mumbai (3-4 January), followed by Lucknow (5-6 January), Bengaluru (7-9 January), Chennai (10-11 January), Delhi (12-14 January). The semi-finals and the final will both be held at Delhi on January 13 and 14 respectively.
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A change, however, is possible in the schedule as the Chennai matches might be moved to Bengaluru after the Tamil Nadu capital suffered heavily due to cyclone Vardah. The confirmation will be known in the next few days.
Saina vs Sindhu on January 11
The biggest highlight of the Chennai leg will be the Saina vs Sindhu face-off when the Awadhe Warriors and the Chennai Smashers lock horns on January 11. The two leading players of Indian badminton have met just once in international competition which was won by Nehwal in straight games at the 2014 India Grand Prix Gold.
It will be interesting to see what the result is this time with Sindhu having improved by leaps and bounds in the past few months.
Here’s the full schedule:
Jan 1: Hyderabad v Chennai; Bangalore v Delhi at HyderabadJan 2: Lucknow v Hyderabad at HyderabadJan 3: Bangalore v Chennai; Delhi v Mumbai at MumbaiJan 4: Hyderabad v Mumbai at MumbaiJan 5: Lucknow v Delhi at LucknowJan 6: Lucknow v Mumbai at LucknowJan 7: Bangalore v Hyderabad at BangaloreJan 8: Delhi v Chennai; Bangalore v Mumbai at BangaloreJan 9: Lucknow v Bangalore at BangaloreJan 10: Mumbai v Chennai at ChennaiJan 11: Lucknow v Chennai at ChennaiJan 12: Delhi v Hyderabad at DelhiJan 13: Semi finals at DelhiJan 14: Final at Delhi
