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The month of December has come with a lot of promises for the badminton season. The recent podium finish of PV Sindhu at the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals as the first Indian woman to have clinched the elusive title has boosted hope in the right direction.
For a year which witnessed a lot of near-miss victories, the time has come for the tables to be turned around with the impressive performance given by Sindhu and Sameer Verma at Guangzhou of late, just in time for the fourth edition of the Vodafone Premiere Badminton League that is waiting to set the ball rolling inside the National Sports Club, Mumbai from the 22nd of this month!
The previous editions of the PBL saw the usual names of a PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Carolina Marin, Kidambi Srikanth dominating the game and stealing all the thunder. However, this season promises to host an array of both amateur and experienced players in a seasoned balance.
Badminton on the men's front had been disappointing this year except for Sameer Verma's recent success in the BWF Tour Finals. The other players have fallen short surprisingly and it has not been the most successful year of the Indians. But PBL can act like a redeeming ground for several players headed this way.
There is the legendary Lee Yong Dae, the icon player of the Mumbai Rockets who was bought for a whopping 80 lakh who is bound to set the standards high for the team. There is also the retired Chinese Houwei Tian playing for the Saina Nehwal led North Eastern Warriors who is also touted to give an impressive performance this season.
The PV Sindhu-led brigade of Hyderabad Hunters also has Lee Hyun Il who just became the oldest player to lift the BWF Tour Finals title and is in fine form to add a dash of brilliance to this edition of the PBL!
Here's a list of players who are motivated to grab eyeballs for their team and leave a mark:
#3 Sameer Verma
The 24-year-old boy from Dhar, Madhya Pradesh has made quite a name for himself in a season where other male players fell short. The World Number 14 player had one of the best seasons and is still running on the high of finishing as a semi-finalist at the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals held in Guangzhou, China.
This was the first time that Verma had qualified for the prestigious event and he made sure his performance announced him as a new formidable force to reckon with. En route to the Finals, Sameer also won the Hyderabad Open, the Swiss Open and the Syed Modi International and has been the most consistent performer on the big stage this year.
An integral part of the Mumbai Rockets team, Sameer is the one to watch out for this season. Considering the brilliant form he is in of late, the Mumbai team will be banking on Verma to channelize his excellence in the PBL too! And it is safe to predict that they won't be disappointed in hoping so.
#2 Tommy Sugiarto
As far as PBL is concerned, Tommy Sugiarto has always been a worthy name on the list. Adjudged as the Most Valuable (Male) Player in the second edition of the PBL in 2016, the World Number 10 has always been a prized possession.
Sugiarto singularly had led the way to victory for the Delhi Acers in the inaugural edition and ever since then, he has stayed loyal to the Delhi team who in return has spent a whopping 70 lakh in the auctions to buy the Indonesian player. The Delhi Dashers scooped Sugiarto up after a tightly-fought bid which saw the Indonesian being sold at the highest bid despite being a non-icon player.
The 30-year-old had a very balanced season that saw him win the Thailand Masters and qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals and retain his ranking at Number 10. The HS Prannoy led Delhi Dashers are sure that Sugiarto will prove to be valuable once again and maybe be the key reason for a successful PBL tournament.
#1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
The teenager from Andhra Pradesh is well en route to scripting history for himself. At just 18 years of age, he has become the costliest Indian doubles player to be bought for 52 lakh by the Ahmedabad Smash Masters.
In the 2017 edition of PBL, Satwiksairaj played a pivotal role along with Carolina Marin for the Hyderabad Hunters to secure the title win! 2018 saw the teenager performing consistently on the international circuit and grabbing several eyeballs.
The youngster, who pairs up with Ashwini Ponnappa and Chirag Shetty for Mixed and Men's doubles respectively has tasted success on several occasions this year. The duo of Satwiksairaj and Shetty won the Hyderabad Open earlier this year too.
Satwiksairaj is assuredly going to make a mark as a part of the Ahmedabad Smash Masters and we cannot be more excited for the teenager to showcase his talent and have us spellbound with his skills with the racquet!
