That brings an end to the auction for the fourth season of Premier Badminton League. The league gets underway from December 22 -January 13 and will see nine teams — Delhi Dashers, Mumbai Rockets, Hyderabad Hunters, Awadhe Warriors, Chennai Smashers, Bengaluru Raptors, Ahmedabad Smash Masters, North Eastern Warriors and Pune Seven Aces battle it out.
Mumbai Rockets invests heavily in Indian players
Mumbai Rockets pinning its hopes on Indians. The Mumbai teams gets doubles specialist Manu Attri for Rs. 18 lakh and shells out more than double that amount to get Sameer Verma (Rs. 42 lakh) on board. some Indian
-- Hyderabad makes its last major signing of the auction. It buys back Lee Hyun Il for Rs. 60 lakh.
Kim Ha Na gets Rs. 40 lakh bid from North Eastern Warriors
North Eastern Warriorsshells out Rs. 40 lakh to get South Korea's Kim Ha NaTeam. The 28-year-old mixed doubles specialist hasn't played in BWF tour since May. It will be interesting to see how she fits into the North East squad.
--South Korean Yoo Yeon Seong has been bought by North Eastern Warriors for 49 Lakh.
Kashyap heads to Chennai Smashers
Chennai Smashers registers its biggest signing of the day: former World Number 6 Parupalli Kashyap.
-- Bengaluru Blasters snaps up British Olympian Lauren Smith for 20 Lakh.
-- Thai doubles star Bodin Isara has been bought by Hyderabad Hunters for 21 Lakh.
-- Taiwan's Lee Cha Hsin joins Delhi Dashers for 20 Lakh.
-- Chennai Smashers snaps up British shuttler Rajiv Ouseph for 24 Lakh.
-- Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto heads to Delhi Dashers.
-- Former Delhi Dashers shuttler Tian Houwei joins North Eastern Warriors for 32 Lakh.
-- Teen prodigy Lakshya Sen has been picked up by the Pune 7 Aces for 11 Lakh.
-- Awadhe Warriors ropes in Lee Dong Keun for 36 Lakh.
-- North Eastern Warriors signs Thailand's Tanongsak S. for 20 Lakh.
Sameer Verma heads back to Mumbai Rockets
Mumbai Rockets spend 42 lakh to bring back World Number 23 and India number 3 Sameer Verma.
Sai Praneeth goes to Bengaluru Blasters
That's the second major signing made by the Bengaluru outfit today. The side spends 32 Lakh to bring in the India number 4.
Here's the remaining purse amount for each team:
-- Awadhe Warriors buys Denmark's Mathias Christiansen for 37 Lakh.
-- Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan joins Bengaluru Blasters for 42 Lakh.
That's all the updates we have for now. The auction will resume at 1:30 PM and we'll be back then. Stay tuned!
Bengaluru splurges to sign Srikanth
Making its biggest signing of the day, Bengaluru Blasters has acquired the services of 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Kidambi Srikant for 80 Lakh.
Chinese ammunition for Awadhe Warriors:
Awadhe Warriors signs China's Beiwen Zhang for Rs. 39 lakh, possibly the last biggest signing of the day.
-- Sai Uttejitha Rao joins Hyderabad Hunters for 1 Lakh.
-- Russia's Vladimir Ivanov joins Pune 7 Aces for 17 Lakh.
-- Hyderabad Hunters splurge 45 lakhs to sign South Korea's Kim Sa Rang.
Pune makes another big signing
The Pune 7 Aces have made another big signing. The debutant has roped in Danish star Mathias Boe for 50 Lakh.
Chennai buys back Chris Adcock
Chennai Smashers have bought back their doubles specialist Chris Adcock for 54 Lakh.
-- Mathias Christiansen is bought by Awadhe Warriors for 37 Lakh.
-- South Korea's Kim Gi Jung heads to Mumbai Rockets for 45 Lakh.
-- Delhi Dashers signs Chinese shuttler Wang Sijie for 15 Lakh.
Ahmedabad signs up Satwik Sairaj
It was a three-way battle between the Ahmedabad Smash Masters, Mumbai Rockets and Bengaluru Blasters to sign the 18-year-old but it was the Smash Masters who had the last laugh. They have roped in Satwik for 52 Lakh.
-- Chai Biao heads to Delhi Dashers for 32 Lakh.
-- Chirag Shetty to Pune 7 Aces. Chirag had won a gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the mixed team event.
Lee Yong Dae to Mumbai Rockets
That's a big catch! The Mumbai Rockets sign Lee Yong Dae for 80 Lakh, making him the most expensive doubles signing so far.
-- South Korea's Eom Hye Won has been sold to Hyderabad Hunters for 37 lakhs.
-- Rituparna Panda to Chennai Smashers for 2 lakhs.
Sikki Reddy joins Ahmedabad
That was quick! 24-year-old Sikki Reddy has been snapped up by the Ahmedabad Smash Masters for 29 Lakh. Sikki has been in fine form this year, having won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. More recently, she was also conferred with the Arjuna Award.
Gabriel Adcock bought back by Chennai Smashers
The Chennai Smashers fight off an intense bidding battle from the Pune 7 aces to bring back two-time Commonwealth Games champion Gabriel Adcock for 36 Lakh.
-- Korean Kim Ha Na joins North Eastern Warriors for 40 Lakh.
Ponnappa to Awadhe Warriors
Awadhe Warriors signs doubles specialist Ashwini Ponnappa for 32 Lakh.
-- That brings us to the end of the singles category. Up next are the doubles players.
Saina roped in by North Eastern Warriors
After going unsold the first time around, Saina Nehwal has been signed by the North Eastern Warriors for 80 Lakh.
Axelsen to Ahmedabad!
The Ahmedabad Smash Masters have bought World no. 3 Viktor Axelsen for 80 Lakh.
Pune 7 Aces signs Carolina Marin
The new franchise on the block, Pune 7 Aces has signed former World champion Carolina Marin for 80 Lakh.
-- Mumbai Rockets have retained their doubles star Lee Yong Dae.
-- Big money! Chennai Smashers signs World Number 9 Sung Ji Hyun for 80 Lakh.
Prannoy heads to Delhi Dashers
What a battle to sign H. S. Prannoy! The Mumbai Rockets and Delhi Dashers were at it for the longest time and the Dashers come out on top. The Delhi side has acquired Prannoy's services for 80 Lakh.
Hyderabad Hunters ropes in P. V Sindhu
After an intense round of bidding, it's the Hyderabad Hunters who prevail. The defending champion snaps up Indian ace Sindhu for 80 Lakh.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top shuttlers including Olympic medallists P. V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, world champion Carolina Marin and former world no 1 Viktor Axelsen will headline the players’ auction in the fourth edition of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League on Monday.
The auction this year will have an added significance with all players returning to the auction pool for the first time since 2015 with no Right To Match (RTM) cards for any teams as the league expands to nine teams with the addition of Pune Franchise.
A total of 145 players listed from 23 countries will go under the hammer.
Comments
SHARE