After two days in Hyderabad, the Premier Badminton League will move on to Mumbai for the next two days with the matches set to be played at the National Sports Club. PV Sindhu's Chennai smashers will be looking to bounce back from their loss against the Hyderabad Hunters, while the second match of the day sees the defending champions Delhi Acers taking on Mumbai Rockets.
Premier Badminton League complete squads
The Chennai Smashers came close to defeating the Hyderabad Hunters on the opening day of the tournament but a superb performance by Rajiv Ouseph turned the tables for the Hunters. Their star player PV Sindhu will also be looking to get back to winning ways after she lost to Carolina Marin. Despite that loss, the Smashers will have to look at the positives going into their next game with the mixed doubles pair of Chris and Gabriella Adcock and Tommy Sugiarto expected to put in a strong performance.
The Bengaluru Blasters will be full of confidence going into this match because they managed to defeat defending champions Delhi Acers in their opening match. Cheung Ngan Yi who will represent the Blasters in the women's single will have to be at her best because she will most likely face off against PV Sindhu. Viktor Axelsen who lost to his compatriot Jan O Jorgensen in his previous match will have to put in a better performance as the Bengaluru Blasters will be relying on him to get a win in the men's single category.
In the second match of the day the home team, the Mumbai Rockets will face off against the Delhi Acers. The Delhi Acers did not have the best of starts to their title defense having been completely outplayed by the Bengaluru Blasters. Jan O Jorgensen and the men's double pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov will be three players the Acers will be heavily reliant on as they look to get their campaign back on track.
The Mumbai Rockets will be playing their first match of the Premier Badminton League today and after losing to Delhi in the finals last year, Mumbai will be looking for a strong response. This won't be an easy match for the Delhi Acers considering the quality of players that Mumbai possess.
They have two of India's finest badminton players in Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy. Vrushali Gummadi, who won a gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games, is another player that the Mumbai Rockets could turn to. They also have two of the best doubles players in Lee Yong Dae and Nipithphon Phuangphuapet who could prove to be a tough test for the Russian pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov.
Where to watch live
The Premier Badminton League match between the Bengaluru Blasters and Chennai Smashers is set to start at 7:00 pm IST and Mumbai Rockets and Delhi Acers is set to start at 10:00 pm IST.
India: TV: Star Sports 1/HD1 (English), Star Sports 3/HD3 (Hindi). Live Streaming: Hotstar
