Premier Badminton League 2020: PV Sindhu's top 3 wins at the tournament
Star shuttler and India's most reliable player in the BWF circuit, PV Sindhu has been the flagbearer for badminton in India. The reigning World Champion, Sindhu occupied the headlines after the PBL Auctions were held in November.
Sindhu was retained by the Hyderabad Hunters, which is her hometown team, for a whopping ₹77 lakh. Although Sindhu did not enjoy a good second half of 2019 with early exits in a string of tournaments, her glamorous first half was enough to maintain a rock-solid status and fetch her that lumpsum amount.
Being the golden girl of Indian badminton, the world will look onto PV Sindhu with high expectations and the Hyderabad Hunters will definitely be banking upon the experience of the shuttler in order for them to repeat their winning feat from the 2017 edition of the PBL, under Carolina Marin's captaincy.
With the 2020 edition soon to begin from the 20th of January, the badminton action is bound to be exciting from the off. The PBL is one of the most awaited event in the Indian calendar of sports as the league-format has been responsible for increasing the popularity of the quickest racquet sport in the world.
Sindhu has been a part of the winning team in only one season, when she captained the Chennai Smashers (Now Chennai Superstarz) to the title during the third season of the PBL.
However, the league has also seen Sindhu being pushed to her extremes by some of her fondest as well as fiercest rivals challenging her on the court. Before the new edition begins, here we have a look at three of her best encounters from the past few season.
#1 PV Sindhu vs Carolina Marin
The memory of the season-opening clash is still fresh, in a match that saw PV Sindhu represent the Hyderabad Hunters side against former World No.1 and arch-nemesis, Carolina Marin, who donned the jersey of the Pune 7 Aces.
The memorable encounter from the 2018 edition of the Premier Badminton League was played at the National Sports Club of India, Mumbai and saw the two great rivals lock horns in a bid to be supreme.
The shuttler from Spain, Marin has been the cause of ample trouble in the path to glory in Sindhu's career. She has stood long and steadfast like a reluctant barrier, unconvinced to budge and claim the gold medals for herself in countless tournaments, whilst Sindhu had to settle for silver.
Like every other encounter, the match in 2018 was also much-awaited and intense even though the Hunters were leading 4-1 in the tie against the Aces. Sindhu, post some resounding success at the BWF World Tour Finals looked sharp and in good form.
In the heated encounter, interspersed with loud cries of anguish and joy from the Spaniard, Sindhu ensured she kept Marin on her toes. Initially, Marin took the first game 15-11 while Sindhu bagged the second 15-8.
The final game was one of equal with both the shuttlers exchanging points. At 13-13, Sindhu took two straight points to win the match. With the final point claimed, Sindhu let out an exaltant cry of happiness after the triumph.
Marin, who will represent the Bengaluru Raptors this season will do all in her power to put up a winning show against Sindhu, and this clash could be a season-defining encounter.