Sindhu, Saina face-off in opener
GUWAHATI: An exciting battle will be on cards when P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal lock horns in the opening match between defending champions Chennai Smashers and Awadhe Warriors at the third edition of the Premier Badminton League on Saturday.
Sindhu, currently ranked No 3 in the World, holds a 2-1 edge in her recent meetings against Saina, with her only loss coming in a riveting Senior National Championship finale.
On the eve of the league opener, Sindhu said, “I’m looking forward to our opening match against Awadhe Warriors. It is not just my match against Saina, every match will be tough as there are some really strong teams out there. The competition is going to be really good.”
With World No 1 in both men’s and women’s singles, eight 2017 World Championship medallists, nine Olympic medallists competing in this edition, the league is easily the best among Olympic disciplines in the country.
Each team will have one junior player travelling with their respective team to get the exposure.
Every day there will be one tie between two teams consisting five matches. Each match will be a three-game affair of 15 points. If scores are tied 14-14, the team scoring the 15th point first will win that game. The top four finishers will play the semi-finals and finals. There will be eight teams with each of them playing five ties. A tie consists of five matches with two men’s and a women’s singles, one men’s doubles and women’s doubles each, to be played in five cities over the next 23 days. Each game will be best-ofthree 15-point affairs.