10 facts about IBL champions Hyderabad Hotshots

Mumbai, Sep 1: Hyderabad Hotshots won the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) by defeating Awadhe Warriors 3-1 in the final here on Saturday (August 31).

Photos from the final" title="Hotshots Team Profile; Photos from the final" />Hotshots Team Profile; Photos from the final

The league, which started on August 14, was played over 18 days with six city-based franchises in action.

Each team consisted of 11 players (4 foreign and 7 Indians, including a junior player).

Here are 10 facts about champions Hyderabad Hotshots

# Hyderabad Hotshots won 3 of 5 matches in the league stage and topped the table with 17 points. They lost to Krrish Delhi Smashers and Banga Beats.

# Hotshots won against Awadhe Warriors twice this year (once in the league and in final). In the team's opener, they won 3-2 against Warriors and in the final, the winning margin was 3-1.

# Saina Nehwal, Hyderabad's icon player, won all her 7 matches. She remained unbeaten in the leauge.

# Saina won the "Player of the tournament" award. She pocketed $1,000 for the same.

# Hotshots received a cheque of Rs 3.25 crores for winning the first edition of IBL.

# Hotshots are owned by Hyderabad-based PVP Group.

# Saina was the costliest female player in IBL. She was bought by Hyderabad for $120,000.

# Chief coach of Hotshots is J Rajendra Kumar, who is a coach at Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad.

# Saina defeated rising star PV Sindhu twice (league stage and final).

# Saina is the captain of Hotshots.

List of Hotshots' players purchased in the auction

Saina Nehwal (India) $120,000

Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Thailand) $15,000

Ajay Jayaram (India) $25,000