For World No. 3 P.V. Sindhu it will be a different kind of a battle when she spearheads Hyderabad Hunters’ challenge against her former team Chennai Smashers in the second round of the Premier Badminton League-4 commencing at the Gachibowli Stadium here on Tuesday.
For the record, Sindhu is now the icon player of the crowd favourite against the former champion. And, having ensured a grand start to the team's campaign in the opener against Pune 7 Aces — leading from the front with a win over three-time World champion Carolina Marin — the fans quite naturally expect an encore.
Top draw
That Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes will be an understatement as the next best players in her squad are men's singles lead player Lee Hyun Il (World No. 25) and World No. 32 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
Hunters’ doubles challenge will be led by World championship medallists Kim Sa Rang, Eom Hye Won in women’s and mixed doubles categories.
On the other hand, Chennai begins its campaign this season here and hopes to look for a winning start with former World No. 12 Chong Wei Feng leading the men's singles challenge and former World No. 2 Korean Sing Ji Yun in women's singles. Sing had beaten Sindhu in Hong Kong last month. It will be interesting to see how local hero P. Kashyap, playing his first big match after wedding Saina Nehwal, will shape up for the big clash.
But, it is the doubles combination of World championship medallists Chris and Gabrielle Adcock (mixed) who should provide the desired cushion in case of any reverse in singles for Chennai.
“Yes, it was a very good start and we managed to win our opening tie without dropping a single match. Now, we are playing on home turf and I am really looking forward to keeping the momentum going,” said Sindhu.
With a capacity crowd expected on the Christmas holiday, by all means it should be an exciting battle. Though Hunters start favourites the possibility of an upset cannot be ruled out like in any good sporting contest.
