Bengaluru defend PBL title
Hyderabad, February 9
Bengaluru Raptors on Sunday became the first team to successfully defend their title as they defeated North Eastern Warriors 4-2 in the summit clash of the Premier Badminton League here. World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth and world No. 2 Tai Tzu Ying led the Bengaluru Raptors from the front before the mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon and Eom Hye Won sealed the win over the North Eastern Warriors, who were in the final for the first time.
With the two teams locked 2-2 in the overall tie after the first the three matches, it was left to their respective mixed doubles pairs to push them ahead. Bengaluru’s Trump pair of Olympics silver medallist Chan Peng Soon and two-time World Championships medallist Eom Hye Won showed their vast experience to pull off a 15-14, 14-15, 15-12 win over the Warriors’ Krishna Prasad Garaga and Kim Ha Na and bag the tie for the Raptors. Soon and Won showed nerves of steel to win the tight first game. In a topsy-turvy second game, the Warriors’ pair led 6-4 before facing a match point which they saved to take the match into the decider. The Raptors’ pair regained control in the deciding game to race ahead 8-2. They held off a late surge from the blue brigade, who came within one point of the Raptors at 11-12 and went on to grab the win. — PTI
