Match Report: Saina leads her Warriors to second consecutive home win over Bengaluru
SAINA NEHWAL led her team Awadhe Warriors to their second win in their final home match in the Premier Badminton League (PBL), beating Bengaluru Top Guns comfortably 4-1 at the Babu Banarasi Badminton Stadium in Lucknow.
The contest started with match mixed doubles contest between Issara/Maneesha of Awadhe and Ponnappa/Lim of Bengaluru where the Top Guns pair notched their first points with a 15-13, 11-15, 15-13.
Sameer Verma made that 2-0 by winning his men's singles match against Sai Praneeth. The young stalwart showed some amazing grit to overcome his senior compatriot and put his team in a comfortable position.
“I am pleased after this victory as our team has now 2 points lead over the home side. Sai made the task difficult in the second game but I absorbed the pressure and doubled our teams lead. I am sure we will take the tie in our name today as I am confident of our trump game as hopefully Srikanth will win it," said Sameer.
The Warriors got back into the game when in the next men's singles match Tanongsak won 15-11, 15-10 against Srikanth. It was a Trump match for Bengaluru and the first defeat for the Indian shuttler in this league.
“ I knew the importance of this match as we lost the opening 2 matches. It was a Trump match for Top Guns but I got better of the pressure and managed to beat one of the best players in India. I am proud that I turned the tables in favour for my team and I think this win will prove to be the biggest upset for the day,” said Tanongsak after his win.
This win recued the gap between the two teams. The next match was a Trump for them and Saina was up against the Chinese player Suo Di. As expected, it wasn't an easy outing, but Saina won the match 15-10, 13-15, 15-8 and fetched those crucial two points. The world no. 2 did not disappoint her fans and won the match to lead her team to victory. The Warriors were already home safely 3-1 before the final men's doubles contest.
Bodin Issara teamed up again for the men's doubles contest with Cai Yun to beat How/Lim of Bengaluru 15-12, 15-6 to increase the lead to 4-1 against the Top Guns. A good all-round performance from the Warriors gave their side the second win in as many matches.
