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With their semi-final berth already assured, the Awadhe Warriors will try their best to finish on top of the leaderboard at the Premier Badminton League Season 4 (PBL 2018-19) in Bengaluru on Wednesday. In their last match before the playoffs, the current No. 2 team faces last year’s debutants North Eastern Warriors who are languishing at the eighth spot out of nine teams this season.
It's a great opportunity for the Awadhe team to get a win and have a huge confidence boost ahead of the playoffs, and they will be looking to do exactly that.
Awadhe's World No. 5 Son Wan Ho has been their talisman this season. He has been victorious in all but one of his PBL 2018-19 outings so far. Coming fresh from his title wins at the Hong Kong Open and the Korea Masters, he has simply looked imperious. He has been a big reason why the Awadhe can dream of winning the title for the first time this season.
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The No. 2 men's singles player Lee Dong Keun was sensational in Awadhe's last match and played a pivotal role in their narrow 4-3 win over the Chennai Smashers. If he can bring that same self-assurance today as well, the Awadhe men can beat the likes of Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and Tian Houwei of the north-eastern franchise as well.
World No. 10 Beiwen Zhang stunned PV Sindhu this season and she would like to cause yet another upset when she faces off against North Eastern Warriors' Saina Nehwal today. However, the ninth-ranked Nehwal looks to have recovered well from her shin injury and could be a dangerous prospect for Zhang.
The combine of Yang Lee and Mathias Christiansen worked brilliantly for the blue brigade in their last match against Chennai. And they would hope to repeat their heroics against Yoo Yeon Seong and Liao Min Chun.
With Ashwini Ponnappa in their ranks, the Awadhe franchise will go all out to win the mixed doubles too, but it could be one tough battle against Chun and Kim Ha Na.
Here’s all the information you need to know about the PBL encounter:
Tournament name: Premier Badminton League Season 4
Venue: Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru
Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Time: 7 pm IST
Head-to-head: Awadhe lead 1-0
Channel: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD
Live streaming: hotstar.com
