Match: Benglauru Blasters v Delhi Acers
Date: 1 January, 2017
Time: 11pm SGT/8:30pm IST/3pm GMT (Onwards)
Competition: Premier Badminton League, 2017
Venue: Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live streaming: Hotstar
Overview
Premier Badminton League has quite a lot of quality matches on offer on the opening day itself as right after the possible clash between PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin in the first tie (Hyderabad Hunters v Chennai Smashers), we will get to see Viktor Axelsen battling against either compatriot Jan O Jorgensen or Son Wan Ho.
Bengaluru Blasters have added firepower to their squad this season by bringing in world number three and BWF Superseries Finals winner Axelsen. They also have the experienced Thailand shuttler Boonsak Ponsana in their ranks along with impressive Indian shuttler Sourabh Varma in the Men's singles category.
Also read: All you need to know about the tournament format and Trump Match details
On the other hand, the defending champions Delhi Acers have two in-form shuttlers Jorgensen and Son Wan Ho, both of whom are looking good to make an impact in India. It will be interesting to see which one of them will turn up against Axelsen as both of them have had quite a lot of success against the Dane.
Notably, Axelsen and Son Wan Ho have met each other six times in 2016, including the semi-final of Superseries Finals last month and they have shared the honour with three wins each. Both shuttlers would not want to go down but will look to boost their team's chances of snatching the tie on the opening day.
The Acers have Aakarshi Kashyap, Nitchaon Jindapon in the Women's singles category and one of them will likely be up against Blasters' Ruthvika Shivani Gadde. Women's doubles action will be in focus as Jwala Gutta (Acers) and Ashwini Ponappa (Blasters), who decided to end their doubles association recently, are likely to go head-to-head.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Team News
Acers: Jan o Jorgensen, Son Wan Ho, Jwala Gutta, Nithchaon Jindapol, Ivan Sozonov, Vladimir Ivanov, Akshay Dewalkar, K Maneesha, Akarshi Kashyap, Siril Verma
Bengaluru Viktor Axelsen, Yoo Yeon Seong, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, Boonsak Ponsana, Ruthvika Gadde, Sourabh Verma, Pranaav Chopra, Ko Sung Hyun, Sikki Reddy
