Crowd favourite P. V. Sindhu may have slipped to a loss but it did not affect her team as the Hyderabad Hunters notched up an impressive 5-0 win against Chennai Smashers in the Hyderabad-leg of the PBL-4 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
Hunters got off to a winning start with Bodin Isara and Kim Sa Rang winning the trump match defeating Chin Chung Or and B. Sumeeth Reddy. Hunters' Hyun Il Lee extended his side's lead when he got the better of Wei Fang Chong.
RELATED| Highlights: Hyderabad Hunters vs Chennai Smashers
Then came the big upset of the evening when Korean and World No. 8 Sung Ji-Hyun brushed aside the challenge from the newly-crowned BWF World Super Series Finals champion, Sindhu, to claim a 15-13, 14-15, 15-7 win to swing the momentum back to the Chennai Smashers camp.
There was little to choose between the two in the first two games when both matched each other. Sindhu produced some stunning cross-court smashes and drops, using her reach especially in the second game which she won.
If the fans thought it would be Sindhu show in the decider, that was not to be as Sung rose to the occasion and put up a dominant display to clinch the game 15-7.
Much to the the Smashers' disappointment, former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap played his heart out but lost in the Trump match against Mark Caljouw. Kashyap lost the first game, came back brilliantly in the second but lost his way in the third game to hand the Hunters a 4-0 lead.
The Hyderabad Hunters' mixed doubles duo of Kim Sa Rang and Eom Hye Won came back from a game down to clinch the next two games against the pair of Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock and with it, steered the Hunters to a 5-0 triumph.
Wednesday's match: Delhi Dashers vs Ahmedabad Smash Masters - 7. pm.
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