PBL 2018: Hyderabad Hunters' Carolina Marin misses Ahmedabad tie due to illness

What's the story?

Fans in Delhi were left stunned after Hyderabad Hunters' star shuttler Carolina Marin missed her team's tie against the Ahmedabad Smash Masters, where she was in line to face World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying on Friday.

The broadcasters confirmed that she was not playing as she was unwell, thus denying fans the chance to witness a high-voltage clash.

In case you didn't know...

Marin is the reigning Olympic champion and a former World No. 1, and also won the Japan Open in September this year. However, she also missed the Dubai World Superseries Finals because of an injury earlier this month.

The heart of the matter

The Spanish shuttler suffered a hip injury in the Hong Kong Open in November and had to retire midway during a match due to which she missed the Dubai Superseries Finals as well.

She came back from injury in the PBL and defeated Michelle Li in Hyderabad's first match of this season. She was scheduled to face the World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying in the women's singles match on Friday but Indian youngster Rasika Raje took her place and lost in straight sets 15-5, 15-6.

What's next?

The Hyderabad Hunters play the Delhi Dashers in the last match of the Delhi leg on Sunday, where Marin will be hoping to recover in time and face off against Sung Ji Hyun, which will be another high-profile clash.

Sportskeeda's take

Hyderabad has only two women's singles player in their squad and considering the second is a 96th-ranked player, the Hunters would be hoping to get their star shuttler back on the court

.Also, Marin is one of the biggest stars in world badminton and people in the capital would love to see her in action.