The Jwala Gutta-led Krrish Delhi Smashers notched up a dominating 4-1 victory over hosts Banga Beats to almost end Bangalore’s chances of reaching the semifinals of the inaugural Indian Badminton League here.
After this loss, the Beats are placed at the bottom of the table with nine points from one win and three losses in four ties.
It will not be easy for the Beats to face table-toppers Hyderabad Hotshots tomorrow at their own backyard. Hyderabad have been in supreme form with fifteen points from four ties.
The 4-1 win, however, enlivened Smashers hopes of an outside chance of sneaking into the semifinals, provided Hyderabad and Awadhe Warriors lose their next ties very badly.
They are placed fourth in the table with 13 points, just one point ahead of PV Sindhu-led Awadhe Warriors.
Bangalore needed to win by a bigger margin for a chance in the semis but the contest turned out to be a one-sided affair as the hosts were completely outplayed by the Smashers.
The saving grace, however, was the Indian ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap, who gave a rousing start for the Beats by thrashing B Sai Praneeth 21-15, 21-11 to put his team 1-0 ahead of Smashers in the first men’s singles tie.
However, Spainard Carolina Marin, who is tagged as the future star from European continent by chief coach U Vimal Kumar, could not get past Nichaon Jindapon, losing 17-21, 21-15, 9-11 to the Thailand player to allow Delhi to claw back at 1-1 after the second match.
Boon Hoeng Tan and Kien Keat Koo then continued their consistent run and gave the Smashers a 2-1 lead with a 21-11, 11-21, 11-7 victory over Banga Beats’ Carsten Mogensen and Akshay Dewalkar in the men’s doubles.
H.S.Prannoy of Smashers then capitalised on the lead by beating Beats’ Aravind Bhat 21-18, 7-21, 11-8 in the second men’s singles match to guide the visitors to a 3-1 win at the end of the fourth game.
Mixed doubles pair of Gutta and V Diju then defeated Beats’ pair of Carston Mogensen and Carolina Marin 21-16, 15-21 and 11-9 in the fifth and final match, outwitting the hosts 4-1 in the tie.
