TEAM PREVIEW: Can Jorgensen help Delhi Acers defend their title?
THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Delhi Acers have made a lot of changes to their squad for the upcoming season of Premier Badminton League. Except for Akshay Dewalkar and coach Madhumita Bisht, it's a new team.
The best buy for the team is Dane shuttler Jan O Jorgensen who has had a great season in 2016. Featured in Rio Olympics, he became the first non-Chinese shuttler to win the China Open Superseries Premier, reached the semis at the Dubai Superseries Finals and ended as runners-up at Japan SS and Indonesia SSP.
He also got the highest bid among male shuttlers during the auction. He will definitely be a boost for the side considering some shuttlers are no more with the team that played a key role in the team's success.
Accompanying the Dane is Korean Son Wan-ho who can be as lethal as Jorgensen because he too comes with experience. He reached the quarter-finals of Rio Olympics. He was the runners-up at Denmark Open, Korea SS and Singapore SS. He won the Korea Masters title. The Korean would be a good support for the Jorgensen and is expected to have a good outing.
In the women's singles, they will be dependent on Thai shuttler Nitchaon Jindapon. But she didn't have a great season this year. She ended as the runners-up at the Bitburger Open. Since there are no other strong candidates in this category in the team, Jindapon should step up her game and shoulder the responsibility.
Just like their men's singles, the men's double category is also strong. Russian duo Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov are an experienced pair who play together in the international circuit. Delhi may have got a jackpot in this pair. Ivanov would once again be the crowd favourite after his on-court antics last season for Mumbai Rockets. In 2016, the pair won two major titles, European Badminton Championships and the All England SSP.
In the mixed doubles category, it might be a little dicey as Akshay Dewalkar and Jwala Gutta will be paired together. Jwala has been out of action since Rio Olympics. Akshay, on the other hand, had a good stint in the German Badminton League and has gathered experience. He can add to the table for Delhi's success. But comparing this pair to other teams, they don't pose much of a threat. One will have to wait and see in order to know how will the pair perform.
The other shuttlers in the squad are Siril Verma, Akarshi Kashyap and K Maneesha. It will be a tricky situation for coach Madhumita and she will under pressure to keep up the performance like the previous one.
Three best from this team would likely be: Men's singles- Jan O Jorgensen and Son Wan-Ho; men's doubles- Ivanov/Sozonov.
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