Sindhu takes on Gayatri in opener

Chennai, Jan. 19: World champion P.V. Sindhu will take on his mentor Pullela Gopichand’s daughter Gayatri in an interesting opening day encounter featuring Hyderabad Hunters and Chennai Superstarz in the fifth edition of the Premier Badminton League starting Monday.

Seven teams — Awadhe Warriors, Bengaluru Raptors, Mumbai Rockets, Hyderabad Hunters, Chennai Superstarz, North Eastern Warriors and Pune 7 Aces — will slug it out for a prize of `6 crore.

This will be the second consecutive season with Hyderabad Hunters for the Rio Olympic silver medallist, who led the Chennai franchise to title glory in the second season.

With Chennai’s Kirsty Gilmour playing at the Thailand Masters, this will be a priceless opportunity for the 16-year-old debutante Gayatri to hone her skills and gain confidence in front of home fans.

Lakshya Sen, who won a staggering five titles in 2019, headlines the men’s singles department in Chennai Superstarz along with the youngest player in PBL-5, S. Sankar Muthusamy and K. Sathish Kumar.

Former World Championships bronze medallist Tommy Sugiarto, who was the MVP in the first season of PBL, will be another key attraction in the Chennai squad.

The Chennai crowd will also get to witness the fiery smashing skills of one half of India’s No. 1 men’s doubles team, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who is donning the Chennai jersey this time. With veteran Sumeeth Reddy being in the team along with upcoming talent Dhruv Kapila, the men’s doubles side in Chennai looks robust.