It Will Be PV Sindhu Vs Saina Nehwal Team In PBL Opener

New Delhi: The third edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League (PBL) opens with a grudge match, with P.V. Sindhus Chennai Smashers taking on Saina Nehwals Awadhe Warriors on December 23. The first leg will take place in new entrants North Eastern Warriors' hometown, Guwahati, who enter the arena on the very second day to face the might of Carolina Marin's Hyderabad Hunters, according to a release.

The 23-day league has been carefully laid out, with only a tie lined up each day at prime time to give the players and teams enough time to recover for their next encounter. "This is going to be an exciting edition of the PBL, the world's biggest badminton league," Atul Pandey, Managing Director, Sportzlive, said.

A bevy of top players, including men's No.1 Victor Axelson (Bengaluru Blasters) and women's No.1 Tai Tzu-Ying (Ahmedabad Smash Masters), will be seen in action during the badminton extravaganza. After four days of intense battles in Guwahati the bandwagon shifts to Delhi. Delhi will see five ties, with the Delhi Dashers enjoying the benefit of playing two matches at home. They will hope to pick up maximum points against Bengaluru Blasters and Hyderabad Hunters to make it at least to the semi-finals this year.

The next stop will be the ‘City of Nawabs', Lucknow. Victor Axelson's Bengaluru Blasters will clash with San Wan-Ho's Mumbai Rockets to ring in the New Year. Four ties have been slotted here, giving North Eastern Warriors and Hyderabad Hunters a solid four-day break.

The PBL will move to the warmer climes of Chennai on January 5 for the penultimate leg. The battles are expected to reach fever pitch by then, with every team scrambling for points and a place in the knockout stage. After an intense five-day stint, the league will shift to Hyderabad on January 10. Only two ties have been lined up here, with the Dashers meeting the Warriors and the Hunters the Blasters. The semi-finals will take place on January 12 and 13 followed by the final, which will be held the very next day, on January 14. (IANS)