Tie: Awadhe Warriors v Hyderabad Hunters
Date: 2 January, Monday
Time: 9:30pm SGT/7pm IST:1:30pm GMT
Competition: Premier Badminton League, 2017
Venue: Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live streaming: Hotstar
Live updates of the matches will be available here.
Overview
A day after the cracking contest between reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin and Rio silver medallist PV Sindhu, Premier Badminton League is all set to offer another high-quality encounter, this time between the Spaniard and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, who will spearhead the season for Awadhe Warriors.
Marin outclassed Sindhu 11-8, 12-14, 11-2 in a three-game thriller in which both the shuttlers gave it their all. Hyderabad Hunters took a 1-0 lead enroute to their 4-3 win over Chennai Smashers in Sunday's opening tie as the world number two avenged her BWF World Superseries Finals defeat to the Indian shuttler.
However, Saina, who is recovering from a knee injury she sustained last year, has to be at her best to stand a chance against the in-form, rampant Marin. However, the 10th-ranked Indian shuttler has a 4-3 head-to-head advantage over the Spaniard and nothing less than another cracker is expected on Monday when the two shuttlers take court on Tuesday.
Hyderabad though had mixed results in the Men's singles category against the Smashers as Rajiv Ouseph won his match but Sai Praneeth stumbled against Tommy Sugiarto. The two will face top quality Awadhe singles stars Kidambi Srikanth and Hong Kong's Vincent Ki Wong.
Goh V Shem v Tan Wee Kiong
Malaysian doubles star Goh V Shem is all set to face his partner, compatriot Tan Wee Kiong in the Men's doubles match of the tie. While Wee Kiong has his compatriot Tan Boon Heong alongside him, Goh is likely to partner Thailand's Bodin Isara for Awadhe.
With both teams looking strong on paper, it will all come down to who adapts well to the new format on the court. With Hyderabad already having played a tie and that they are playing at home, they hold a narrow edge over Awadhe.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Team News
Hunters
Squad: Carolina Marin, Wee Kiong Tan, Chau Hoi Wah, Rajiv Ouseph, Sai Praneeth, Satwik Sairaj, Sameer Verma, Krishna Priya, Meghna J, Tan Boon Heong
Warriors
Squad: Saina Nehwal, V Shem Goh, Srikanth Kidambi, Savitree Amitrapai, Wong Wing Ki Vincent, Rituparna Das, Bodin Isara, Markis Kido, Prajakta Sawant, Aditya Joshi
