PBL 2018: 3 epic clashes to look forward to in the Pune leg

#2 Lakshya Sen (Pune 7 Aces) vs Kidambi Srikanth (Bengaluru Raptors)

Kidambi Srikanth

A former junior World No. 1 vs a former World No. 1 clash, with both being from the same country, should attract a lot of attention. Srikanth is the best of the current batch of Indian men's singles shuttlers, perched at No. 8 in the latest world rankings. And the 17-year-old Sen could very much be his successor one day.

Naturally this is one match that should not be missed by any Indian badminton enthusiast.

The teenager has been improving by leaps and bounds. The Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy product had a memorable year that saw him excel at both the junior and the senior level. He won the gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships, the silver medal at the Youth Olympics and the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. He finished an incredible season on a high by triumphing at the Tata Open India International.

In his PBL debut, he has managed to win one match in three outings while losing a thriller, thereby underlining his immense talent further.

As for Srikanth, he hasn't had the best of seasons on the BWF circuit. The Pullela Gopichand protege was a pale shadow of his 2017 season version, and he couldn't lay his hands on any winner's trophy.

However, he did start showing a lot of resurgence post the Asian Games. Five quarterfinals and one semifinal were enough to signal that he was indeed getting back to form. And the 25-year-old carried that confidence into the PBL 2018 and got a win in the Raptors' only assignment so far.

It will be interesting to see if Sen can indeed spring a surprise in this much-awaited battle of youth vs experience.