After a pulsating opening tie, in which defending champions Chennai Smashers lost to Awadhe Warriors, Premier Badminton League season three is all set for its second tie -- Hyderabad Hunters vs North Eastern Warriors -- on Sunday, December 24.
Hunters will be lead by reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin, who is also expected to play the Trump match on Sunday. The star-studded team finished among the top-four last year and will be looking to go one step further this year.
"I'm looking forward to our first match against the North East Warriors. We are keen to do better than last season, although it will not be easy as the competition is very tough.I will try to get maximum points and help my team," Marin said on the eve of their opening tie in Guwahati.
Hyderabad favourites to win singles rubbers
Marin starts as favourite to win the women's singles rubber against world number 21 of Canada Michelle Li of Warriors. The PBL newbies also have Ruthvika Shivani in their ranks, but Li is likely to take on the Spanish star on Sunday.
With the likes of Sai Praneeth and Lee Hyun il of South Korea in their ranks, Hunters also have a good chance of securing the men's singles rubbers.
However, Warriors' Ajay Jayaram, who has not had a good 2017, believes his team can come up with a good show on their debut in front of home crowd.
"We are a new team but that will not come in the way of our performances. We know there will be no easy matches and we are prepared for it. The confidence level is quite high and we are ready to take on the Hyderabad Hunters," Ajay said.
All eyes will be on the men's doubles fixture, which will witness India's top-ranked doubles players Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty going head-to-head.
When does the tie start and how to watch it live
The second tie of PBL 3 between Hyderabad Hunters and North Eastern Warriors will start at 7pm IST.
Live streaming: Hotstar; TV channel: Star Sports 1/HD 1
Complete squads
Hyderabad Hunters: Men's singles: Lee Hyun il (Kor), Sai Praneeth, Rahul Yadav. Women's singles: Carolina Marin (Esp), Rasika Raje. Men's doubles: Lu Ching Yao (Tpe), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Yoo Yeon Seong (Kor),Pratul, Rahul Yadav. Women's doubles: Pia Zebadiah (Idn), Anoushka Parikh. Coach: Fernando Rivas
North East Warriors: Men's singles: Ajay Jayaram, Pratul Joshi, Tzu Wei Wang (Tpe). Women's singles: Michelle Li (Can), Ruthvika Shivani. Men's doubles: Chiraag Shetty, Shin Baek Cheol (Kor), Kim Gi Jung (Kor), Pratul Joshi. Women's doubles: Prajakta Sawant, Sanyogita Ghorpade. Coach – Nikhil Kanetkar
