Pune 7 Aces snap Superstarz’s run
Hyderabad, Jan. 30: Chirag Shetty beat Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in a highlyanticipated clash as Pune 7 Aces snapped the winning streak of Chennai Superstarz with a 5-2 victory in the first double header of the Premier Badminton League here on Thursday.
This was the third consecutive win for the high-flying Aces who won four matches in the tie to start the final leg of the league with a bang.
The win also enabled Pune (14 points) to climb up to the second spot right behind Chennai Superstarz in the league standings.
The highlight of the day was the showdown between Rankireddy and Shetty, who partnered each other to a historic Thailand Open title win last year. Rankireddy paired with Sumeeth Reddy for Chennai and Shetty partnered with men’s doubles world champion Hendra Setiawan for the Aces.
What gave the match an extra edge was the fact that it was the fourth rubber of the tie and happened when the two teams were locked at 2-2. Playing the Trump for Pune was a huge responsibility for Shetty and Setiawan and right from the first point, they showed they were up for the challenge.
WARRIORS WIN
A day after losing to Hyderabad Hunters, North Eastern Warriors bounced back to beat the Mumbai Rockets in the second tie of the day. The Warriors were in control of the tie right from the start with Michelle Li, Lee Cheuk Yiu and the mixed doubles pair of Lee Yong Dae and Kim
Pune 7 Aces duo Hendra Setiwan (left) and Chirag Shetty after their win in a PBL tie on Thursday.
● Michelle Li had stunned world champion P.V. Sindhu a day ago when the Warriors clashed with the Hyderabad Hunters
Ha Na each fetching a win for the team.
The result meant Rockets are on a four-match losing streak and are yet to open their account in the fifth edition of the PBL.
Michelle had stunned P.V. Sindhu a day ago when the Warriors clashed with the Hyderabad Hunters. It wasn’t much different today as well as the former Commonwealth Games gold medallist staved off a challenge from rising talent Shriyanshi Pardeshi to win the Trump match, 15-9, 15-11.