'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hyderabad, December 24th, 2018: After the Premier Badminton League (PBL) opener in Mumbai on Saturday where PV Sindhu was up against Olympic champion Carolina Marin, it’s another mouth-watering clash at the PBL as Hyderabad Hunters takes on Chennai Smashers at Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, here, on December 25, 2018.
Hyderabad Hunters will be going into this fixture super motivated, after defeating Pune7Aces in all 5 games in the PBL opener at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai on Saturday. PV Sindhu will be locking horns against her former PBL team that she led to victory during Season 2 of the PBL. The World No. 3 will be up against her replacement — World No. 2 Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea, another PBL veteran who currently has the upper hand in their head-to-head analysis, after the South Korean beat PV Sindhu at the Hong Kong Open last month. Sindhu will also be all charged up and raring to go after her recent three-set comeback victory over the Spanish Rio Summer Games champ Marin, which will definitely make this clash one to watch!
Apart from this iconic clash, the other match-ups also promise to be nail-biters, with Hyderabad putting up experienced shuttlers like – 38-year-old Lee Hyun II, who recently won the Macau Open and has a whopping 489 wins in the sport, and Mark Caljouw who won the Orleans Championship and was the runner-up for the US Open, in the men’s singles.
The Hunters have a potentially lethal line-up in doubles as well with former No. 2 in men’s doubles — Kim Sa Rang, who is a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships and a gold medalist at the Asian Championship. He will be supported by former World No. 5 in woman’s doubles — Eom Hye Won, another highly decorated Korean who has won silver at the World Championships women’s doubles and bronze in the mixed category. Apart from these experienced shuttlers Meghna Jakkampudi, Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka and Rahul Yadav Chittabonia will also be highly instrumental for the Hunters when going up against the Chennai Smashers.
This Christmas match-up is definitely one to look forward to!
Hyderabad Hunters Squad:
PV Sindhu (women's singles), Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka (women's singles), Lee Hyun Il (men's singles), Mark Caljouw (men's singles), Rahul Yadav Chittaboina (men's singles), Kim Sa Rang (doubles), Eom Hye Won (doubles), Meghana Jakkampudi (doubles).
Chennai Smashers Squad: Sung Ji Hyun (women's singles), Saili Rane (women's singles), Parupalli Kashyap (men's singles), Rajiv Ouseph (men's singles), Chong Wei Feng (men's singles), Chris Adcock (doubles), Gabrielle Adcock (doubles), B Sumeeth Reddy (doubles), Rutaparna Panda (doubles), Or Chin Chung (doubles)
