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Chennai Smashers stretched, but finally come good against Mumbai Rockets in PBL

Chennai Smashers eked out a hard-fought victory over Mumbai Rockets in the Premier Badminton League here at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

By Aravind
PV Sindhu of Chennai Smashers returns to Beiwen Zhang of Mumbai Rockets during their PBL match in Delhi on Wednesday

New Delhi, December 27: Chennai Smashers eked out a hard-fought victory over Mumbai Rockets in the Premier Badminton League here at the Siri Fort Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

They fell behind in the opening encounter, with B Sumeeth Reddy and Lee Yang losing to Lee Yong Dae and Tan Boon Heong 9-15, 6-15 in the men's doubles.

World No 24 Brice Leverdez of France, however, staved off a staunch challenge from World No 30 Sameer Verma to win the men's singles 15-14, 10-15, 15-14 and brought the teams level.

India's own super star PV Sindhu then came back from a game down to win her match against Beiwen Zhang to put Chennai Smashers ahead at a 2-1 edge.

Former World No 1 Son Wan Ho of South Korea, however, won his trump match, beating Tanongsak Saesomboonsuk of Thailand 15-11, 15-5 to take the clash into the decider while also giving them a 3-2 edge in points.

The Adcock couple from Great Britain, Chris and Gabriela, then put up a grand show to beat MR Arjun and Gabriela Stoevain the mixed doubles' clash to seal the tie for the Chennai Smashers.

The victory saw them jump ahead 4-3 on points as they had nominated this as their Trump match.

It wasn't an easy win though. They dominated the first game to easily win 15-9. But Arjun, playing his first PBL match, showed great defensive skills and uncanny anticipation to clinch the second game 15-13.

In the decider, though, the Adcocks were back to the best, jumping to a 6-0 lead. Arjun and Stoevain made a minor comeback but the match was clearly slipping out of their hands. They fell behind 4-8 and eventually lost 9-15.

Sindhu began well but lost 12-15 to the World No 11 from America with Chinese roots in the opening game. She, however, displayed typical grit and composure to level the match, winning the second 15-7.

The third game saw Zhang inch ahead 5-4 but Sindhu again was calmness personified as she regained an 8-7 lead at the break. She took her chances after that and forced her opponent from one end to the other to round up a win at 15-9.

Earlier, Leverdez and Sameer were locked in a high-octane clash. The Indian started the proceedings on a high note but soon fell behind. An accurate forehand smash helped him level at 9-9. But the Frenchman stayed on top of his game to clinch the all-decisive point as they walked together till 14-14.

The deceptive Sameer bounced back in the second game with his intricate net play, lashing out smashes at will to win the second game 15-10. As the clash went down to the wire, Sameer raced off to a 4-1 lead. But the Frenchman was up to him and levelled the decider 10-10 before racing away to a 13-10 lead for himself.

Sameer refused to give up though, fighting his way to 14-all. He, however, made an error to the lose the match and a crucial tie.

The Men's doubles encounter too went neck and neck in the initial phases. But Mumbai Rockets' Lee Yong Dae and Tan Boon Heong eventually toyed with the Smashers' pair of Sumeeth Reddy and Lee Yang to defeat them 15-9, 15-6 and bagged the first point for his team.


RESULTS

Mumbai Rockets vs Chennai Smashers

Men's doubles: Lee Yong dae/Tan Boon Heong bt B Sumeeth Reddy/Lee Yang 15-9,15-6

Men's singles: Sameer Verma lost to Brice Leverdez 14-15, 15-10, 14-15

Women's singles: Beiwen Zhang lost to PV Sindhu 15-12, 7-15, 9-15

Men's singles: Son Wan Ho bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 15-11, 15-5 (Trump)

Mixed doubles: Gabriela Stoeva/MR Arjun lost to Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock 9-15, 15-13, 9-15

Source: Press release

Story first published: Thursday, December 28, 2017, 9:49 [IST]
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