Tie: Bengaluru Blasters v Hyderabad Hunters
Date: 7 January, Saturday
Time: 9:30pm SGT/7pm IST/1:30pm GMT
Competition: Premier Badminton League, 2017
Venue: Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru
TV Channel: There is no live TV coverage in Singapore.
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Live updates of the tie will be available here.
Overview
Bengaluru Blasters were crushed by Chennai Smashers in their previous tie of the ongoing season in Mumbai. But Viktor Axelsen's team are heading into Saturday's clash after a long three-day break. They will also be playing their first home game of the season and crowd support is expected to be massive for the Sachin Tendulkar co-owned franchise.
World number three Axelsen will be key to the hosts chances. The Danish shuttler lost to compatriot Jan O Jorgensen during their 4-3 win against Delhi Acers but won his match against Chennai's Tommy Sugiarto in their 5-0 thrashing on 3 January. The BWF World Superseries Finals winner will likely be up against Hyderabad Hunters' Rajiv Ouseph, against whom he has a 5-1 head-to-head advantage.
In the second Men's singles match, we might see a clash between brothers if Hyderabad opt to field Hong Kong Open 2016 finalist Sameer Verma against Bengaluru's Sourabh.
Focus will also be on Carolina Marin, who will lead the Women's singles category for the Hunters and will likely take on Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi. The reigning Olympic champion would want to get back to winning ways following her loss against Mumbai Rockets' Sung Ji Hyun. Notably, the Spaniard defeated both top-ranked Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal in her previous outings.
Hyderabad also have a strong Men's doubles pairing of Malaysia's Tan Wee Kiong and Tan Boon Heong. They will be up against Bengaluru's South Korean pairing of Ko Sung Hyun and Yoo Yeon Seong. India's Ashwini Ponnappa is also a crucial campaigner for the home team in the mixed doubles category.
Both the teams, who have quite a few big names, have so far struggled to come up with consistent performances. A win on Saturday is necessary for Hyderabad, who have only one match left after tonight's game in the campaign.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Team News
Blasters
Squad: Viktor Axelsen, Yoo Yeon Seong, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, Boonsak Ponsana, Ruthvika Gadde, Sourabh Verma, Pranaav Chopra, Ko Sung Hyun, Sikki Reddy
Hunters
Squad: Carolina Marin, Wee Kiong Tan, Chau Hoi Wah, Rajiv Ouseph, Sai Praneeth, Satwik Sairaj, Sameer Verma, Krishna Priya, Meghna J, Tan Boon Heong
