'%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)
Premier Badminton League 2020 is slated to kickstart on 20 January and the excitement is going through the roof. The 21-day badminton extravaganza will be contested by seven teams this time around who will play a total of 24 ties. Chennai Superstarz and defending champions Hyderabad Hunters will be locking horns in the first tie.
PBL Season 5 will also feature some of the greatest talents from around the world including World Championship and Olympic medallists.
One of the teams in the fray is Awadhe Warriors. With players such as Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Cheol in their ranks, the Warriors are in the hunt for their first PBL title. Without further ado, let us do a thorough analysis of all the players in each category in the team.
Men’s Singles: Subhankar Dey, Ajay Jayaram, Wong Wing Ki Vincent
Subhankar Dey is a talented Indian shuttler. The 26-year-old has played 256 career singles matches out of which he has won 152. Currently ranked 45th in Men's Singles, Dey will be looking to make a positive impact for Awadhe this season.
Last year, he finished runners-up at the Italian International - a BWF International Challenge tournament. Dey also won a gold medal at the 2018 SaarLorLux Open, a Super 100 tournament, by defeating Rajiv Ouseph in the final. Once the Indian shuttler gets going, it is tough to stop him. He is sure to provide stiff competition to some of the experienced shuttlers in the opposition teams.
32-year-old Ajay Jayaram brings in his experience to the Warriors' setup. The right-handed shuttler has played 454 career singles matches and won 263 of them. Some of his notable achievements include winning a Bronze medal at the Asia Team Championships in Men's team, finishing runners-up at the 2018 Vietnam Open (Super 100) tournament. Ajay has caused many upsets in the International circuit and will be one of the players to watch out for in PBL Season 5.
Wong Wing Ki Vincent is currently the highest-ranked Men's singles shuttler in the squad. The World Number 37 Hong Kong international also has plenty of experience under his belt. Wong has 221 wins out of 433 career singles matches played.
Also check out: Updated PBL Points Table
Men’s Doubles: Shin Baek Cheol, Ko Sung Hyun, Ivan Sozonov
World Number 22 pair of Shin Baek Cheol and Ko Sung Hyun are the biggest strength for Awadhe Warriors. The former World Number 1 Men's doubles pair won the prestigious BWF World Championships gold medal in 2014. Last year, the fantastic South Korean duo clinched the U.S. Open (Super 300) title as well as the Australian Open (Super 300) title.
Shin has a total of 261 wins in 389 career doubles matches played and also specializes in Mixed Doubles. On the other hand, Ko Sung Hyun has won 391 of the 534 career doubles matches played. The best thing for Awadhe Warriors is that the two ace shuttlers have been playing together for a long time and share a fantastic understanding.
Ivan Sozonov is another talented doubles player. The 30-year-old clinched Bronze at the 2019 European Games with his partner Vladimir Ivanov. The Russian shuttler has 306 wins out of the 467 career doubles matches he has played so far.
Also Read - Premier Badminton League 2020: Pune 7 Aces squad analysis
Women's Singles: Beiwen Zhang, Tanvi Lad
Beiwen Zhang is the USA's top Women's singles shuttler at the moment. The singles specialist has played 390 matches in the category of which she has won 253.
Currently ranked 16th in the world, Zhang started playing badminton when she was just 8 years old. The talented player finished runners up at the 2018 Korea Open (Super 500). Another notable achievement of hers is winning the gold at the 2018 India Open (Super 500) after defeating PV Sindhu 21-18 11-21 22-20 in the final. 29-year-old Zhang will be Warriors' best bet in the Women's singles category.
Tanvi Lad will also be one to watch out for. The Indian shuttler will need to make the most of the limited opportunities she gets in the tournament. 26-year-old Tanvi finished runners-up at the Croatian International last year and was also a part of the Indian Women's team that won Bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Also Read - Premier Badminton League 2020: Hyderabad Hunters squad analysis
Mixed Doubles: Christinna Pedersen
Denmark's Christinna Pedersen will likely be paired with either Shin Baek Cheol or Ko Sung Hyun for playing Mixed Doubles.
She is best known for winning the Silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games with Women's doubles partner Kamilla Rytter Juhl. The Dane has 394 wins in 533 Career Mixed doubles matches played and her presence bolsters the Awadhe Warriors squad further.
Other impressive achievements of Christinna include winning the gold medal (in Women's doubles) at the 2018 All England Open (Super 1000) and the 2018 Malaysia Masters (Super 500). Furthermore, she has a total of four Bronze and one Silver medal in the BWF World Championships.
Folllow Sportskeeda to get the full PBL 2020 Schedule, PBL 2020 Results, PBL 2020 Points Table, news & updates.
