Bengaluru Top Guns are winning the battle but losing the war - Arvind Bhat
IT'S AN ODD SITUATION that Bengaluru Top Guns find themselves in after three ties in the Premier Badminton League. They are currently 5 th in the league table with 6 points and have played 15 matches so far despite losing all three ties by close margins. The 'Trump Match' rule for a bonus point hasn't worked in favour of the Top Guns with two of three trump matches being lost including last night's upset of Captain Kidambi Srikanth by Tanongsak from Awadhe Warriors.
With a day's break after facing Awadhe Warriors on their home turf, the Top Guns travel to New Delhi to face the home team there. The Delhi Acers have played two ties so far and have lost both with a 3-2 margin to Awadhe Warriors and Chennai Smashers. The home team will have confidence in the fact that they are placed higher on the league table than Bengaluru, giving them a slight edge in the contest in New Delhi. They also boast of quality singles talent in India's Ajay Jayaram, England's Rajiv Ouseph and Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto. According to Bengaluru's coach, Arvind Bhat, fans in Delhi will see possible contests between Sameer Verma or Anand Pawar against Ajay Jayaram while Top Guns captain Srikanth could face the Indonesian. Unfortunately, Srikanth will not be selected for the 'Trump Match' with the rule allowing a single player to be selected twice for the 'Trump Match' in the league stage. This forces the Top Guns to change their strategy regarding the selection of players for the 'Trump Match' but coach Arvind Bhat is confident that if asked, any of the other players can step up to do the job.
After three rather close and edgy losses for the Bengaluru Top Guns, one could assume that confidence and morale might be low in the camp. But aside from the fact that there are no injury concerns for Arvind Bhat, there are definite positives to be taken from the performances for the Top Guns. There have been great individual performances including Srikanth's win over Lee Chong Wei and Suo Di's win over Han Li but the coach feels
Bengaluru Top Guns are winning the battle but losing the war in the whole picture.
And urging players to make the team effort count. The equation to qualify for the semi-finals is simple - win both ties and secure a top four position.
After the tie against Delhi Acers, the Bengaluru Top Guns then have a 5 day break before they host the Chennai Smashers in their home ground in Bengaluru. The Top Guns are planning on using this extended break for extra training sessions and preparing well against a strong Chennai squad along with promotions in the city and further media commitments.
The Bengaluru Top Guns take on the Delhi Acers on the 8th of January, 2016 at 6:30pm.
