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A badminton treat awaits fans here on Republic Day as the home team, the Awadhe Warriors is all set to take on former champions Hyderabad Hunters on the second day of the Lucknow leg to be held at the Babu Banarasi Das U.P. Badminton Academy. With the hosts starting their campaign on a high, home fans will be hoping to cheer the blue brigade to victory against PV Sindhu’s Hunters.
The Awadhe Warriors has certainly looked like a robust and well-knit team ready for battle. It wasn’t an easy start for them in Chennai with the confident North Eastern Warriors nearly dashing their hopes. But World No. 46 Subhankar Dey’s poise and determination titled the match in their favour as they went on to record a narrow 4-3 win in an enthralling tie. Awadhe has also been bolstered by the return of former World No. 1 Christinna Pedersen, who also has two Olympic medals on her resume. Displaying her trademark tenacity and stamina, the Danish star pulled off a gritty three-game win in partnership with Sung Ji Hyun and is hungry for more.
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“I always love playing here in India and especially at PBL where I have so many fond memories. It has been a great start for the team and we hope to continue the momentum,” said Pedersen.
In a tale of contrasting fortunes, the Hyderabad team could not get off to a winning start despite the presence of the reigning world champion PV Sindhu and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Sikki Reddy. While the Rio Olympic silver medallist did not put a foot wrong in her commanding win over young Gayatri Gopichand of the high-flying Chennai Superstarz, the Hunters failed to bag a win in all the other disciplines.
Irrespective of the outcome in their solitary match so far in the fifth edition of the PBL, there were a few positives. Priyanshu Rajawat was a revelation against Lakshya Sen in an exhilarating face-off between two rising stars and Sindhu is looking forward to build on these as they aim for their maiden win in this season.
“After a couple of pretty good training sessions, we are upbeat despite the loss in our first match. There were quite a few encouraging performances which we hope to convert into wins. This is a new leg and we are looking forward to put in our best efforts,” said the World No. 6.
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