Stars gear up for season 2 of Premier Badminton League
WITH PREMIER BADMINTON LEAGUE season 2 all set to hit the courts from January 2017, top players representing the six different franchises fired opening salvos at each other during the official pre-season Press-Conference of the league, here today.
It was a starry affair with stars like Carolina Marin, PV Sindhu, Jan O Jorgensen, Sung Ji Hyun, Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal, Lee Yeong Dae and Viktor Axelsen coming together in front of a packed house and expressed their preparedness for the upcoming season.
“It is great to have such highly talented players participating in PBL. This will only increase the competitiveness of the tournament and I’m proud to be a part of Hyderabad Hunters and such a great tournament,” said the 2016 Rio Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion, Carolina Marin.
To have players of such high caliber in the PBL only raises the standards already set for Indian badminton and this has only been possible because of the initiatives taken by the Badminton Association of India (BAI),
“It is a very proud moment for us to welcome these players to a bigger, better and more exciting year of PBL. Like in our previous forays, the League this year has also attracted the world’s best players, including 8 Olympic Medalists, who will be in the fray for the 2017 edition. The presence of a world class playing field like this just underlines the fact that how the league is being received worldwide and its growing stature in the badminton fraternity,” said BAI President and PBL Chairman, Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta.
The tournament has an illustrious pool of talent who will be participating from six different teams, which will not only make the tournament one to watch out for but will also provide the right kind of exposure to the upcoming players of PBL.
“It is important to gain more experience to improve your game. As you keep playing more matches with higher ranked players, it helps understand your game better and to tackle errors in a different manner the next time around,” said PV Sindhu, the silver medalist from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The tournament which offers a prize purse of INR 6 crores is the highest prize money tournament in the world. The second edition of PBL which promises to be bigger, better and much exciting than the last edition will see a stellar playing field, comprising of 60 top shuttlers. The League will not only allow the national players a chance to shine in front of the home crowd but also has attracted top players from 9 countries, Denmark, England, Poland, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malayasia, who will be eager to woe their fans with their crazy skills.
“It has never been about fame or money for me. I just love playing badminton and will put in my best for the Bengaluru Blasters and try to start the new year on a high note,” said Viktor Axelsen, the Dane who will have a lot of pressure of guiding the Blasters to victory going into the tournament.
Denmark has remained a powerhouse in producing top players across all disciplines and Jorgensen is of the same stable who has shown a great run of form recently,
“I am happy to be a part of such an illustrious line-up. PBL season 2 will surely be more challenging than the last year looking at the tremendous talent we have on board,” said Jan O Jorgensen who will be spearheading the lineup for the Delhi based team. “The finals are scheduled to happen in Delhi on the 14th of January and I will hope that our team is in it and we are able to win it for our fans as I’ve heard they come out in huge numbers in Delhi,” he urged the fans in Delhi to show their support.
The first clash of the tournament will be headlined by Sindhu v/s Marin when Chennai Smashers take on Hyderabad Hunters on the first day of 2017. Both of them will want to win it and take their team one stop closer to the finals and the trophy.
