Lucknow: Thai player Tanongsak S of Awadhe Warriors had to bring his A-game after his team fell behind early, before Saina Nehwal led the Warriors to come back from behind to win the tie 4-1 against Bengaluru Top Guns in their Premier Badminton League (PBL) clash on Wednesday.
Ashwini Ponnappa and Lim Kim Wah of Bengaluru Top Guns kicked off the tie by defeating Awadhe Warriors’ Bodin Issara and K. Maneesha 15-13, 11-15, 15-13 in 49 minutes to take a 1-0 lead.
Then men’s singles player Sameer Verma dismissed Sai Praneeth of Awadhe give Bengaluru a 2-0 advantage.
Next up, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand pulled off a massive upset win over World No. 9 Kidambi Srikanth in a Bengaluru’s Trump match to level the score at 1-1.
“I knew this match was important, especially after we’ve lost the first two matches. It was a Trump match for Top Guns, and I am proud to be able to beat Srikanth and to regain some breathing room for my team on the verge of defeat,” said Tanongsak after his match.
In a pulsating contest, Saina Nehwal took the court for Awadhe Warriors’ trump match against Sou Di. Nehwal drew first blood in a tense first set, winning 15-10. Sou Di showed some high quality badminton in the second set to bring the match into the decider by clinching the second set 15-13. But it was Nehwal who dominated the decider, crushing the Chinese player 15-8 to seal the tie for Awadhe Warriors 3-1.
The last match of the tie saw Cai Yun/Bodin Issara of Awadhe Warriors put on a masterclass to beat Hoon Thien How/Lim Khim Wah 15-12. Hoon/Lim of Bengaluru were left completely helpless under the aggressive play by Cai/Issara in the second set, allowing the Awadhe pair romp home to victory with a 15-6 second win and inflict yet another
The Men’s Doubles tie saw the Awadh pair put in yet another convincing performance as they clinched the opening game of the tie 15-12, but it was in the second tie that the Bengaluru pair were left totally clueless as Issara and Yun ran away with proceedings, clinching the game 15-6 to romp home to victory and inflicted second consecutive loss on the Top Guns in two days. Mumbai Rockets outclassed Bengaluru Top Guns 4-3 in a tie that was held on Tuesday.
Read article below to understand how the ‘Trump Match’ works:
India Premier Badminton League: Lee Chong Wei falls in upset loss to Kidambi Srikanth.
