The Premier Badminton League (PBL) has been one of the reasons why the sport of badminton has climbed up the popularity charts in India. It gives fans a unique opportunity to watch some world class players in action.
Because of its competitive nature, the PBL can also be used by many of the top shuttlers as the perfect place to gauge their preparations going into the new season. It can be highly beneficial especially for those players who had been out with injury or have suffered a loss of form and are looking forward to getting back to the top.
Presenting five players who can use the PBL to announce their return:
#1 Saina Nehwal
After her triumph at the Australian Open Superseries in June, hopes were pinned on Saina Nehwal for emulating her London Olympic bronze medal-winning feat at Rio or going even better. All those hopes were dashed by a right knee injury that turned out to be an infrapatellar spur displaced fracture and patellar tendon impingement and was responsible for her crashing out in the group stage.
It subsequently required a surgery that forced her to miss three months and saw her slipping out of the top 10 for the first time after seven years. On the comeback trail, India’s golden girl has reached a couple of quarter-finals but is obviously lacking in her pre-injury sharpness.
Saina, who will don the Awadhe Warriors colours, can very well use the PBL platform to get some much-needed practice before the new season officially begins. The 26-year-old does have the experience of captaining her team – the Hyderabad HotShots – to the title in the very first edition of the pan-India league when it was called the Indian Badminton League (IBL) in 2013.
Being well-rested and itching to get back to the top echelons, Nehwal might steal the show once more at the PBL just like she did three years ago.
#2 Kidambi Srikanth
Much like Saina Nehwal, the India No. 1 men’s singles player, Kidambi Srikanth’s season post the Rio Olympics too got mired in injury and disappointment. In his quest to rack up points for a third consecutive appearance at the Dubai World Super Series Finals, the Guntur-born player curtailed his rest and embarked on the Asian Swing right after Rio.
However, disaster struck at the Japan Open Superseries and the 23-year-old suffered an ankle injury. All his attempts to return did not meet with any success and the Pullela Gopichand protégé had to ultimately call off the season.
As Srikanth is aiming to make a full-fledged comeback next year, the PBL is just what the doctor ordered for him. The World No. 13 represented the Bengaluru franchise in the previous edition but this time, he will appear for the Awadhe Warriors alongside Nehwal. The rejuvenated Indians can surely set the stage on fire with their two-pronged attack.
#3 Carolina Marin
Spanish shuttle queen Carolina Marin earned one of the most memorable moments of her career in 2016 when she won a historic women’s singles gold medal in Rio. However, that and her defence of her European Championships title were the only highlights of an otherwise bland season for the uber talented Marin.
She did not even reach a single final in any competitive event other than those two tournaments. Her 2016 season was a farcry from her stellar 2015 season where she won as many as six Superseries titles or higher.
Even her Rio Olympic glory could not help light up the spark and the 23-year-old slumped to a quarter-final and two semi-final defeats in her next three tournaments. The continued setbacks even resulted in her conceding her numero uno ranking to Tai Tzu Ying.
Certainly, the southpaw just has not been at her flawless best and should be looking to get back to her championship-winning form as soon as possible. There cannot be a better opportunity than the PBL to get back the feel of top level competition with so many of the world’s elite shuttlers competing. Marin had been a part of the 2013 IBL and is already acquainted with this format.
The two-time world champion is the 2017 PBL’s costliest player and is self-admittedly already excited to turn up for the Hyderabad Hunters.
#4 Jwala Gutta
For India’s doubles queen Jwala Gutta, it has been a season that she would very much like to forget. Struggle with form and confidence resulted in a disappointing campaign at Rio where she and Ashwini Ponnappa lost each of their three women’s doubles matches.
The two, who had won the Commonwealth Games gold among others, could not conjure up any of their usual magic and they eventually parted ways after the Olympics. Jwala at 33, is still very much bubbling with zeal and energy and wants to focus on mixed doubles from now on as she moves into a different stage of her career.
It is a fresh start for the southpaw who was once ranked as high as No. 6 in the world in mixed doubles. Gutta did not play post-Rio, choosing a much-needed break before plunging headlong into her preparations for the new season.
The PBL will give the doubles supremo the ideal start and her team, the Delhi Acers too can highly benefit from her rich experience.
#5 Tommy Sugiarto
Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto was the 2016 PBL’s player to watch. He came to the event with a rich vein of form having captured the Indonesian Masters and carried it forward to the PBL. Oozing confidence, Sugiarto absolutely sizzled in almost every outing for the Delhi Acers and led them to the title. Quite deservedly, he was adjudged the Most Valuable Player (Male) in the last season.
However, the 28-year-old could not continue that impeccable run in the BWF circuit and failed to reach any final.
Stepping on the court for the Chennai Smashers during the 2017 PBL, the World No. 21 will surely be reminded of his 2016 heroics. The memories can help bring back the lost confidence that the former World Championships bronze medallist had desperately been searching for.
