Loyalty to the land ran thick, teams and franchisees unable to break that bond. So it was not surprising that when two outstation squads slugged it out, the fans rooted invariably for one of their own.
K. Srikanth was perhaps a beneficiary from such backing, trailing initially in the opening match but staging a strong comeback where spectator support could have contributed its mite.
Where cheers for Srikanth were raucous, applause for Saurabh Verma was at best feeble.
ADVERTISEMENT
No prizes for guessing who they favoured when Juliane Schenk played P.V. Sindhu next.
***
They were quite conspicuous by their presence, their ‘habits’ in contrast to their chairs draped in black.
ADVERTISEMENT
Three nuns in white and another in saffron were seated in the VIP enclosure. What were they doing in a sports arena at what in their convent would be an ‘unearthly hour’?
One of them couldn’t quite conceal her delight when their pet pupil took the court.
Diagonally opposite, their college’s students turned out in strength, armed with placards that said ‘Wow Sindhu’ and ‘St. Anns college for women.’ They should be here on Tuesday too, to pep up a former student and maybe it’s best known alumnus—Saina Nehwal.
***
When it comes to the popularity stakes, badminton may have quite a bit of catching up to do. With several world-class players holding court, there was not much to write home about crowd attendance. The music blared during the breaks as the strobe lights cast their spell across a neatly dressed-up arena.