Jayaram suffers first loss against  PBL debutante

Hyderabad Hunters got off to a bright start in their Premier Badminton League opener against North East Warriors by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match duel at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

The Hunters won their men’s doubles, first men’s singles and women’s singles. The North East Warriors’ supported by a large number of vociferous fans took the first two matches to the distance but failed to deliver the knockout blow.

Hunters’ star player Carolina Marin justified her World No. 3 billing by defeating Michelle Li 15-9, 15-11. It was a significant victory as the Hunters had listed it as their Trump match, fetching them two points. After three matches they had garnered four points while the Warriors had yet to open their account.

Earlier, the Hunters men’s doubles pair of Markis Kido/Yoo Yeon Seong overcame a resolute Kim Gi Jung/Shin Baek Cheol 15-10, 13-15, 15-13 in a thriller to give them their first point. The South Korean duo put up a gallant display but the experience of Indonesian Kido and Korean Seong stood out in a tense finish.

Lee Hyun Il then caused an upset by defeating Ajay Jayaram 15-13, 11-15, 15-6 in the men’s singles. Jayaram, who held a 3-0 advantage against the Korean in their earlier meetings, appeared to justify it by racing to a 6-0 lead in the first game. But Lee Hyun clawed back to turn the tables on him15-13. Although the Indian bounced back in the second and took the contest to the third game, Lee Hyun closed out the match with a dominant display.

Results (incomplete)

Hyderabad Hunters vs, North East Warriors

Men’s doubles: Markis Kido/ Yoo Yeon Seong bt Kim Gi Jung/ Shin Baek Cheol 15-10, 13-15, 15-13

Men’s singles: Lee Hyun Il bt AjayJayaram 15-13,11-15, 15-6

Women’s singles: Carolina Marin bt Michelle Li 15-9,15-11

Men’s singles: B Sai Praneeth vs Tzu Wei Wang

Mixed doubles: Pia Zebaidiah Bernadet/ Satwiksairaj Rankireddy vs Prajakta Sawant/ Shin Baek Cheol

The matches will be telecast on Star Sports HD 1 and Star Sports 1 from 7 PM onwards and streamed live on Hot Star. Tickets will be available on BookmyShow.

MATCH PREVIEW FOR TOMORROW

Smashers keen to hunt down Rockets

Delhi Smashers are keen on putting behind the disappointments of the last season and begin the third Premier Badminton League on a fresh slate. They run into two-time finalists Mumbai Rockets in their opening match at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium on Christmas Day (Monday). A look at how the teams stack up:

Delhi Dashers vs Mumbai Rockets

Head to head: Played 3, Delhi won 2, Mumbai won 1

Best finish: Delhi winner 2016; Mumbai runners-up 2016, 2017

Key clashes: Women’s singles: Sung Ji Hyun v Beiwen Zhang. Korean Sung Ji is ranked World No6 while USA’s Beiwen, of Chinese origin, is the World No11.

Men’s singles: Tian Houwei v Sameer Verma. The Indian, with a world ranking of 30 will be up against the World No22, who is also the only Chinese player featuring in the league.

COURT SHOOT

“We did not have a great outing last season and are eager to make amends. We know that Mumbai are the runners-up of last season and they have a good team this year as well but we also have the squad to match them. Last year we could not execute our plans properly. But this is a new season, we want to start afresh and begin with a win.”

--Vladimir Ivanov, Delhi Dashers

“Obviously we are all geared up as it is the opening tie for us. We go into the league as the runner-up and are definitely looking start on a positive note. We have a very good squad and believe that we stand a great chance against Delhi.”

--Sameer Verma, Mumbai Rockets

The Squads

Delhi Dashers: Men's singles: Tian Houwei (Chn), Vincent Wong Wing Ki (Hkg), Guru Sai Dutt. Women's singles: Sung Ji Hyun (Kor), Shreyanshi Pardeshi. Men's doubles: Pranaav Jerry Chopra, Ivan Sozonov (Rus), Vladimir Ivanov (Rus). Women's doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa, Arathi Sara Sunil. Coach: Ajay Kanwar.

Mumbai Rockets: Men's singles: Sameer Verma, Son Wan Ho (Kor). Women's singles: Beiwen Zhang (USA). Men's doubles: Lee Yong Dae (Kor), Tan Boon Heong (Kor), MR Arjun, Kona Tarun, Sanyam Shukla. Women's doubles: Gabriela Stoeva (Bul), Kuhoo Garg. Coach: Rupesh Kumar.