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The Delhi leg was the second phase of the ongoing Premier Badminton League, a league which sees badminton superstars from all across the globe compete against each other. The Awadhe Warriors sit on the top of the table after the culmination of the Delhi leg. They are closely followed by Bengaluru Blasters at no. 2. Here are the 5 best performers in the Delhi leg:
PV Sindhu
The first tie of the Delhi leg saw the Chennai Smashers take on the Mumbai Rockets. The match was a closely contested and the Chennai Smashers went on to win it 4-3. India's number one female shuttler, PV Sindhu certainly had a part to play in Chennai's victory. Sindhu won her singles game against Chinese Zhang Beiwen 2-1. After dropping the first game 12-15, Sindhu made an amazing comeback to win the next two games 15-7 and 15-9, thus sealing the match in her favour. The Olympic silver medallist showed that Chennai Smashers were absolutely correct in spending the big bucks on her and decimated Zhang Beiwen after an early blip.
Chong Wei Feng
The second fixture of the Delhi leg saw the home side take on high flying Bengaluru Blasters. Although Bengaluru Blasters won the match comfortably by a scoreline of 5-2, CW Feng had a much closer game against WWK Vincent. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist dropped the first game of the match 10-15 and then carved his way back into the match by winning the next two games 15-13 and 15-8. Feng's win was one of the four victories for Bengaluru Blasters against Delhi Dashers. After convincing performances in both the legs, CW Feng will be looking to maintain the momentum as we head into the Lucknow leg of the PBL.
Tai Tzu Ying
The third fixture of the Delhi leg saw Ahmedabad Smash Masters taking on the Hyderabad Hunters. The fixture was another closely contested one with the Ahmedabad Smash Masters coming out on top with a 4-3 victory which put them in the third place on the table. Current women's world number one, Tai Tzu Ying showed everyone why she is the best in the business. The shuttler from Taiwan swept away Indian Rasika Raje 15-5, 15-6 wrapping up a comprehensive 2-0 win. The match between Ying and Raje looked a mismatch right from the word 'go' and Tzu Ying just dismantled her opponent in style.
Wang Tzu Wei
In the fourth clash of the Delhi leg, table toppers Awadhe Warriors took on North Eastern Warriors. The tie was a hard fought one and the Awadhe Warriors ended up winning it 4-3. Even though North Eastern Warriors ended up losing, Wang Tzu Wei's performance against Kidambi Srikanth is worth mentioning. The shuttler from Taiwan came back in the match after dropping the first game 10-15. Tzu Wei won his next two games 15-9 and 15-6, stunning Srikanth as well as the audience. Tzu Wei was one of the top performers in the first leg too and would be looking forward to carrying the momentum in the third leg.
Tian Houwei
The final tie of 2017 saw the home side take on Hyderabad Hunters. Delhi Dashers ended up winning the tie in an emphatic fashion, they thrashed Hyderabad Hunters 5-0. However, Tain Houwei's match against Sai Praneeth was one of the closest games of this season. The Chinese shuttler won the first game 15-14, lost the next game 14-15 and won the third game 15-10, helping Delhi Dashers notch their first and only win in the second leg of the PBL. Delhi Dashers will be relying more often on Tian Houwei in the upcoming games.
