Sindhu guides Hunters in win

Hyderabad, Feb. 2: World champion P.V. Sindhu put up a masterclass to beat Shriyanshi Pardeshi in an all-Indian clash as Hyderabad Hunters notched up a thrilling 4-3 win over Mumbai Rockets in the fifth Premier Badminton League here on Sunday.

Languishing at the bottom of the table, Hyderabad finally had something to cheer about as Sindhu lead a recovery after the team was 0-3 behind at one stage against the sixthplaced Rockets.

Sindhu had come to this match on a twomatch losing streak, having suffered a reversal of fortunes at the hands of Michelle Li and Tai Tzu Ying. However, this time the Hunters Trump made no mistake as she beat Shriyanshi 15-5, 15-10 in a clinical display.

Priyanshu Rajawat then defeated Korea’s Lee Dong Keun 15-13, 15-9 in the men’s singles match, while Vladimir Ivanov and N. Sikki Reddy brushed aside KS Rang and Pia Bernadeth 158, 15-8 to edge out Mumbai at the GMC Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium.

Earlier, 2014 CWG champion Parupalli Kashyap won his first match of the season after tasting a defeat in four consecutive ties.

The Mumbai ace has a 3-2 head-to-head record against World No. 42 Daren Liew on the BWF World Tour and he used all that experience against the Malaysian, whom he last beat at the Korea Open in November.

Showing all his rhythm and range, the Mumbai Trump was able to register a quickfire 15-8, 15-13 win.

In men’s doubles, Kim Sa Rang and Kim Gi Jung easily beat Hyderabad’s Ben Lane and Vladimir Ivanov 15-10, 15-8 to make it 3-0 in Mumbai’s favour.

Sindhu then took the court and claimed a straight game win to start Hyderabad’;s recovery. In the first game, it was a one-way traffic as Pardeshi found it difficult to counter Sindhu’s pace and power.