TEAM PREVIEW: Marin, the star attraction along with mix of Indian flavour strengthens Hunters' squad
HYDERABAD HUNTERS finished second from bottom in the first edition of Premier Badminton League. They lost out on the services of Lee Chong Wei but have added great replacements: Olympic Gold medallist Carolina Marin, top English shuttler Rajiv Ouseph, Malaysian and Hong Kong doubles shuttlers such as Tan Boon Heong, Tan Wee Kiong and Chau Hoi Wah.
They also have Indian strength to the team. Sameer Verma and Sai Praneeth to bolster the men's singles attack along with youngster Krishna Priya and Meghana Jakkampudi in the women's singles and doubles category.
In the women's singles contest, we would see Marin more often than the junior shuttlers in the squad. Everyone knows what the Spaniard is capable of and all will be eagerly waiting to see her fight against PV Sindhu which will take place on 1st January.
Winning the Gold at Rio Olympics was the highlight of 2016 for Marin. Talking about the clash against Sindhu, the former World No. 1 said,
"Well obviously it will be a great match, but I believe the result at the end of the tie will matter the most. We as a team will look forward to perform together rather than resting on private laurels as our main aim is to win the title and not just shine individually. Of course individual performance would count, but as a team our main focus would be to translate that into a collective success and go past the finish line.”
The Englishman Rajiv will lead the men's singles category with Praneeth and Sameer playing the second round of the event. Praneeth is ecstatic as he would be playing for his hometown after having a stint with Awadhe Warriors in the opening season of PBL.
"With the shorter format of the game, the matches will be really fast and exciting but we will have to be really focused. I will hope the city comes out and supports us in huge numbers."
Sameer is also a strong candidate as he had a great end to 2016, ending as runners-up at the Hong Kong SS. In the tournament, he trumped top shuttler from Denmark, Jan O Jorgensen so it will be interesting to see the two against each other in PBL.
The doubles category too look strong for the Hunters with the likes from Malaysia and Hong Kong. Tan Boon Heong and Tan Wee Kiong will handle the men's doubles while one of them will pair up with Chau Hoi for the mixed doubles contest. Tan Wee is the current World No. 1 in the men's doubles and therefore will play a crucial role for the team.
Along with Chennai Smashers, the Hunters too have a balanced team and are in the race for the title.
The three best from the team likely to fire are: women's singles- Marin; men's singles- Rajiv; men's doubles- Tan Boon/Tan Wee.
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