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Ashwini Ponnappa is the Pune Pistons’ star player
5. Pune Pistons
Pune is considered to be the birthplace of badminton. In fact for long, badminton was referred to as the “Poona Game”. As per some accounts, the British soldiers, who used to play the sport in Pune, took the game back with them on their return to Gloucestershire County. The Duke of Beaufort from the town of badminton actively promoted the game, and the sport was therefore called “Badminton” as a salute to his contribution. The city of Pune has produced India’s first badminton icon Nandu Natekar, who was the first Indian to win an international tournament outside the country.
Key facts:
Owners: Burman family – Owners of the Dabur group. Burman family also owns a stake in the Kings XI Punjab IPL team and Mumbai Magicians team in the Hockey India League
Chief Coach: Nikhil Kanetkar – Represented India in the 2004 Olympics
Host Stadium: Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Badminton Hall, Balewadi
Icon Player: Ashwini Ponnappa – Bronze medallist in women’s doubles at 2011 BWF World Championship; gold medallist in women’s doubles in 2010 Commonwealth Games
Team Composition
The owners did a good job in the auction and have compiled a well balanced team. Indian star Ashwini Ponnappa is the icon player in the team, which also has top women’s singles player Juliane Schenk, Viatnamese men single’s star Tien Minh Nguyen, seasoned doubles players Joachim Fischer and Wee Kiong Tan. Apart from Ponnappa, the Indian contingent also comprises of Arun Vishnu, Anup Sridhar, Saurabh Verma, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas.
Strengths: Men’s and Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles
World number seven Tien Minh Nguyen has been in top form recently and will be a potent force for all other teams to deal with. Saurabh Verma is likely to be the other men’s singles player, and he might have to bring out some inspired performances to win his matches.
In the women’s singles department, Juliane Schenk looks set to have a good tournament. Joachim Fischer is likely to partner Ashwini Ponnappa in mixed doubles, and the Indo-Danish pair will use all their experience to do well.
Analysis of Men’s Doubles
Wee Kiong Tan, who is world number 10 in men’s doubles, is likely to be partnered by one among Rupesh Kumar, Sanave Thomas and Arun Vishnu. It’ll be imperative for the Indian player who plays in men’s doubles to complement the Malaysian well in the games, if they are to win against some tough competition from other teams.
Tournament schedule:
vs Krrish Delhi Smashers – August 14
vs Mumbai Masters – August 17
vs Hyderabad Hotshots – August 19
vs Banga Beats – August 23
vs Awadhe Warriors – August 26
Conclusion
The star players (Nguyen, Schenk, Fischer/Ponnappa) will be expected to win their matches. The second men’s singles (Verma) is a bit of a concern, while the coach will look to get the men’s doubles combination right. The team looks well balanced and should be able to make it to semi-finals, barring any major hiccups.
