Indian Badminton League preview: Awadhe Warriors look to bolster their semi-final chances
The Warriors remained in contention for a semi-final berth by defeating Mumbai Masters 3-2 in Bangalore on Saturday. They had earlier trounced Krrish Delhi Smashers.
On a high after back-to-back wins, Awadhe Warriors, led by star shuttler P V Sindhu, would look to enhance their semi-final chances when they square off against Pune Pistons in the Indian Badminton League (IBL) here on Monday.
The Warriors remained in contention for a semi-final berth by defeating Mumbai Masters 3-2 in Bangalore yesterday. They had earlier trounced Krrish Delhi Smashers.
The Lucknow-based outfit have 12 points from four ties with two wins and as many losses and need to win their last tie to book a berth in the knockouts.
It will be Sindhu's first match at home in the tournament and she will surely get the backing from a partisan Hyderabad crowd.
The world championships bronze medallist would be high on confidence after prevailing over seasoned Tine Baun in an enticing three-gamer yesterday.
Another player from Andhra Pradesh in the Warriors' side, K Srikkanth would also like perform well in front of his home fans.
Srikkanth has already displayed his abundant talent in IBL and earlier as well. The Warriors' has competitive players like Weng Fei Chong, Gurusaidutt and the pair of Marcis Kido and Mathias Boe in its ranks.
On the other hand, Pune is on a high having earned 14 points from four ties and is coming off from a 4-1 hammering of Banga Beats at home on Friday.
Led by star Ashwini Ponnappa, the side boasts of players like Nyugen tien Minh, Saurabh Verma, Anup Sridhar, Juliane Schenk, Joachim Fischer Nielsen who can give their rivals a run for their money.
Sridhar would be high on confidence after his upset win over world number eight from Hong Kong and Beats' Hu Yun in the last encounter. The Indian would be hoping to repeat his performance tomorrow and consolidate his side's position -presently third - on the points table.
Schenk too looked convincing in her last game, which would make the Beats' camp happy.
The teams (from):
Awadhe Warriors: P V Sindhu, Weng Fei Chong, Guru Saidutt, K Srikkanth, Sapsiree, Ruthvika Shivani, Marcis Kido, Mathias Boe, K Maneesha and Nanda Gopal.
Pune Pistons: Ashwini Ponnappa, Nyugen tien Minh, Saurabh Verma, Anup Sridhar, Juliane Schenk, Joachim Fischer Nielsen, Sanave Thomas, Arun Vishnu, Wee Kiong Tan and Rupesh Kumar.